Clash of Federations
by RenS
Summary: An incident in the Earth-Minbari War accidently creates a way into the Star Trek universe, which is at war in itself. Each universe now has to deal with a war in the other universe!
1. A New Nexus in Time and War

It is said in every Age, there is one singular event that forever changes the world around us. A nexus, if you will.

It is said the future is always born in pain. The history of war is the history of pain. If we are wise, what is born of that pain matures into the promise of a better world. Because we learn that we can no longer afford the mistakes of the past.

(Taken from _B__5: In The Beginning..._)

**30 September, Sol System's Asteroid Belt, on the EAS _Lexington_**

Lieutenant-Commander John Sheridan tensely studied the schematics on his scanner. Adrenaline pumped his heart as he waited for the right moment. This time, the wounded hunted would be the hunter.

The Minbari warcruiser, the subject of his scrutiny, approached among the asteroids, attracted by the distress signal from the Lexington.

It was time.

Sheridan sent a signal to one of the three bombs attached to asteroids. The two-megaton nuclear bomb exploded in a flash of light, its kinetic energy and heat striking the terrifyingly beautiful warcruiser, engulfing it.

Exhilaration coursed through Sheridan's veins even as the dying kinetic energy shockwave shook his Hyperion-class cruiser. When the energy of the bomb dissipated, he could see that the Minbari warcruiser was damaged. Its starboard side sported glowing wounds, trailing heated and irradiated debris as the ship turned to leave the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It was now missing one of its three major fins.

**On the _Drala Fi_**

Shai Alyt Vultan ached. The Minbari warrior picked himself up from the floor. His bruises ached and he ached to destroy the treacherous humans who had done this to the flagship of the Minbari Federation.

The raid into the Sol System was supposed to force the Earth Alliance to spread its defenses thin across itself, and to confirm the location of the human homeworld for the rest of the Minbari military. The raid had been a success. Until now.

Vultan angrily shouted an order.

"Activate jumpengines! We are leaving."

In a universe we know, the jumpengines were activated too late, damaged as they were by the Earther nuclear bomb blast. However, in this universe, the damage was not too extensive.

**EAS _Lexington_**

Sheridan waited for the enemy ship to move close enough to the third bomb. It had moved too far from the second bomb. His eyes gleamed for the imminent hard-earned victory. His lips drew back in a gleeful sneer. _This is for Captain Sterns and all the others you killed, bastards!_

"See you in _hell_."

Just as Sheridan was pressing the button that would signal the third bomb, he saw the beginning of a jumppoint forming in front of the Minbari ship.

"Too late, my friends."

The bomb exploded. Sheridan could see the Minbari warcruiser briefly glow in the bomb's heat before shattering like glass as its fusion engines blew.

The quantum singularity within the Black Star was already feeding power into the jumpengines. When the bomb blew, the complex safety fields and supports containing the singularity collapsed. The singularity fluctuated, attempting to reach out of itself, and began to eat at the conduit already opening into hyperspace before imploding upon itself. The singularity drew on the energies of hyperspace and caused the conduit to drill much deeper and farther. The fire of the Minbari fusion engines added to the power of the singularity's implosion. The fabric between dimensions began to tear in the implosion.

The Minbari jumppoint just forming fluctuated in the bomb blast, the hellish glow of hyperspace drowned out by the nuclear light. Lightning bolts appeared to crack and lash out of the wobbling half-formed jumppoint, while the red gases of hyperspace appeared to pour out to disappear into a point at where the Minbari warcruiser once was, consumed by the quantum singularity whose light was now taken in by its high gravity.

Sheridan frowned. If the Lexington had functional engines, they would leave this area as fast as possible.

The jumppoint expanded. It should not be doing that, not without a ship's jumpengines supporting it.

Instead of the familiar vortex leading into hyperspace, the jumppoint formed a gaseous planet-like sphere with a side seemingly torn out. The torn maw revealed stars and the blackness of space within the moon-sized sphere with marble-like grains of blue of varying shades from royal blue to dark blue and black.

Sheridan leaned forward for a closer look at his scanner. _What the hell?_

**Mars Defense Perimeter**

A small ship, shaped like an arrowhead, detected the formation of the anomaly. The rear points of the arrowhead glowed blue and the ship moved at sublight speed to stop at 2,000 meters form the anomaly. The name _Sarajevo_ could be seen emblazoned on its sides. The _Sarajevo_ scanned the spherical anomaly and sent its telemetry to its masters on Mars and Earth.


	2. Close Encounters of Another Kind

**Starfleet Headquarters, San Francisco, Earth**

Ambassador Soval gazed out the windows at the San Francisco Bay graced by the Golden Gate Bridge. Even after years on Earth, he was not used to seeing so much open water, so much more water than Vulcan. Logically, there would be planets richer in water than Vulcan, even than Earth, but as a desert people, Vulcans were generally uneasy about such amount of open uncontrolled water in spite of the existence of small seas on their homeworld.

These humans even trap water in large containers and swim in it as a pleasure, dirtying it with their bodies!

Soval gently touched the scars on his face and ear left over from the Earth embassy bombing in ShiKahr, capital city of Vulcan. Even with their shocking wastes, the humans had their merits.

The sound of a door opening came to his ears. "Ah, Ambassador!"

Soval turned to face the speaker. He was illogically disappointed that it was not Admiral Forrest. The admiral was carrying a small lead box. He put it down on his desk.

"Admiral Gardner," Soval said.

"Did you hear about the anomaly?"

Soval inclined his head.

The admiral continued. "Our science ships has detected what appear to be vessels at the other side of the anomaly. Could be sensor ghosts, but we can't be too careful. The Command Council is worried that it could be Romulans trying to create a wormhole straight into the Solar System."

The Vulcan ambassador doubted that, but he said nothing. The data was too insufficient for him to comment. After a pause, he said, "The _Ti'Mur_ is on its way to assist you with the analysis of the anomaly. First Minister Kuvak concedes the possibility that the anomaly could be created by a belligerent species seeking to strike at Earth. The Vulcan High Command is sending a small fleet. It will arrive approximately 6 hours after the _Ti'Mur_."

The admiral let out a breath. "Thank you, Ambassador. I see that you have learned from your...inactivity concerning the Xindi."

"Indeed." Not about to be baited by the admiral, Soval looked down at the lead box sitting on the admiral's desk.

Glad to leave the discomfort behind, Admiral George B. Gardner said, "Ah, oh yes. We did find something." He opened the box and took out an object. It was blackened, twisted. Soval took it in his hand. The Vulcan was surprised at its texture. In spite of its obvious damage, the texture was smooth, almost like glass. He looked at Gardner with a question written on his face.

"We found debris in the vicinity of the anomaly. It's a form of polycrystalline alloy. Analysts believe the debris come from a ship."

"Polycrystalline. The Romulans do not use that material."

The admiral shrugged. "Maybe not. Still, we can't be too careful." He shook his head. "Romulans! Almost two years ago, we have never heard of such a species. Except for that cloaked minefield that the _Enterprise_ wandered into, of course. Now, barely three years after the Xindi attack on Earth, we're in the middle of a war with them!"

Ambassador Soval kept himself silently neutral. After all, Vulcan was officially neutral in this war. The only help that the Vulcan High Council was giving Earth and its colonies was shipments of food and medicine. And occasionally intelligence as well. He could see the irony of the situation. The former Administrator V'Las wanted a war. Fortunately, V'Las failed, but soon after, a war erupted without him anyway.

Why did V'Las want a war, anyway? It was most un-Vulcan. And where was V'Las now?

"What is Starfleet going to do, Admiral?"

Seeing Soval's expression of careful patience, Admiral Gardner said, "Oh, we're not so rash as to send a ship through. Not yet, anyway. We're going to send a probe. We are hoping that the Vulcans will help..._enhance_ the probe's sensors and programs."

Ambassador Soval thought carefully about that. Vulcan had been pushing its neutrality a bit far already with its humanitarian and intelligence aid to Earth and its colonies. If the anomaly was indeed a wormhole to a Romulan star system and the enemy detected Vulcan technology on the probe...

Vulcan ships would then quickly become targets for Romulan warships.

It was just a probe, not a ship. Its presence would hardly be an act of war. There was one more option for him to consider before deciding... "What about your alliance with Andoria? They cannot help you?"

The admiral shook his head. "They're busy in the war too. Just two weeks ago, the Andorian Imperial Guard evacuated their colony of Pvarto on Gamma Virginis IV, and the Romulans then occupied the planet. The war is going bad for us all. Hell, they even destroyed a Tellarite convoy the week before the fall of Gamma Virginis!"

Ambassador Soval made a subtle head movement, the Vulcan equivalent of the human shrug. He reminded himself that Vulcan was officially neutral. Even so, he sympathized with the Tellarites in spite of their questionable morals. Tellar had only achieved warp capability 50 years ago, so it did not have the necessary advancements to resist the Romulan aggression. "When the _Ti'Mur_ arrives, we will enhance your probe with sensor equipment and self-defense programs."

"Thank you, Ambassador."

**Earth Alliance Ship _Athena_**

Captain Best studied the anomaly nervously. His Hyperion-class cruiser was the only ship here, if he didn't count the small IPX ship out there, constantly scanning the spherical anomaly. Earth Central has made it a low priority, preferring to focus on the already desperate defenses against the Minbari.

Damn Jankowski!

The scanner operator turned around to Best. "Captain, scanners are detecting something coming through the anomaly."

The captain leaned forward as far as his chair harness could allow and squinted at what the officer had put up on the main viewer. The white missile-like object appeared to be small, perhaps the size of a maintenance bot. It was slowly moving away from the anomaly. Best turned to the scanner officer, "Dave, what's it doing?"

"Unknown. If it's scanning us, it's using some unknown technology. The power reading of it is pretty high. High for just a probe."

An automated weapon? With the Minbari smashing through the outer colonies, they couldn't be too careful. IPX did theorize that the anomaly may indicate a whole new way to travel in space, possibly much faster than hyperspace. If that was true, is that star system that scanners had faintly detected the Minbari home system? It can't be... Intelligence had indicated that Minbar was in a trinary star system, most likely Chi Draconis. That system through the hole had only one star in it.

"Scramble fighters. I want it captured."

xxxxxxxx

The probe detected the fighters maneuvering their way toward it. It attempted to send its gathered telemetry through the anomaly to no avail. The power used to send the telemetry was too weak to penetrate the anomaly's barrier. When a starfury fighter opened fire, the probe concluded that the unknowns were attempting to disable it. Activating its Vulcan-enhanced programs, the probe fired thrusters and built up energy in its ion engine.

Turning, the probe fled towards the anomaly. An energy bolt hit, grazing its side, forcing the probe to correct its course and increase power to its ion engine. It sped up, quickly disappearing into the anomaly.

xxxxxxxx

Captain Best slammed a fist into a chair arm, frustrated. "Send to Earth Central: alien probe detected. Failure to capture. Recommend more ships sent here."

**8 October, Mars Defense Perimeter**

The UES _Enterprise_ NX-01 was hanging in space close beside a Vulcan Surak-class ship. The iridescent moon-sized spherical anomaly still hung at the edge of the Asteroid Belt.

Captain Jonathan Archer studied the probe's telemetry on the main screen of the ship's Command Center. He tapped on the keyboard to bring up a picture on the screen. Eyebrows raised, he looked sideway at the Vulcan captain.

"Are these readings accurate?"

The Vulcan raised an eyebrow. "Our equipment are not usually as faulty as yours."

Archer frowned. "A yes or no would have sufficed, Captain Vanik."

Vanik simply stared back.

T'Pol spoke up to break the tense silence. "These readings suggest there is another Solar System on the other side of the anomaly." She looked pointedly at the white-blue vessel hanging in the center of the picture, especially at the English script written on the ship. _EAS Athena_. "And they also suggest there are humans in that Solar System, albeit with an entirely different level and form of technology. Captains, this is a parallel universe."

Both captains looked surprised. Vanik frowned and asked, "Is your analysis of the telemetry certain of that? The anomaly is quite reminiscent of the wormhole phenomenon. The instruments could be mistaken."

T'Pol made no expression, but Archer could tell that she bristled at Vanik's implication of incompetency on her part. "The quantum imprint included in the probe's telemetry proves it: the quantum signature of the space on the other side is out of synchronicity with our space. I am aware that the Vulcan Science Directorate has concluded that access to other universes is not possible in spite of the Theory of Quantum Mechanics and an obscure dubious reference to at least one interuniversal visit on Earth."

Archer was surprised. "It has happened before on _Earth_?"

T'Pol said, "In the Earth year 1850, a man named Jophar Vorin appeared in a village near the German city of Frankfort-On-Oder. He spoke an unknown form of a Germanic language and wore clothes of unfamiliar cut. After much effort in understanding him, the city magistrate found that Mr. Vorin came from 'Laxaria' on the continent of 'Sakria.'"

Captain Vanik arched an eyebrow. T'Pol noticed and answered his unvoiced question.

"As I said, the reference is dubious and there was no technology capable of determining the truth at the time. The Vulcan Science Directorate has concluded it was a hoax. However, this anomaly proves that interuniversal travel is possible."

Captain Archer nodded. The Vulcan Science Directorate had once said that time travel was impossible. "Then the Science Directorate will have to change more of its conclusions. The Starfleet Command Council has ordered us to investigate. This means we have to go through the anomaly."

Captain Vanik looked at Archer with a raised eyebrow. "That is...unwise. Earth is in a state of war. Furthermore, the knowledge that there is another Earth here would be...unsettling for those humans. Vulcan, on the other hand, is neutral and alien enough to be different."

T'Pol studied Vanik's facial expression and asked, "Did the Vulcan High Command give you permission to take the _Ti'Mur_ through?"

The Vulcan captain almost frowned and pointedly looked down at T'Pol's blue Starfleet uniform. "No, Commander."

Archer smiled at T'Pol, grateful for that point. "Then we are going through. You could come along with us, Captain."

"It would be unwise for us to go with you. Could you not wait for our ambassador to arrive?"

"We can't afford to wait too long. We do need to get back to the front as soon as possible." The human captain shook his head at the thought. The front was getting a hell lot closer to home. He has heard about the Romulan attack on a Tellarite convoy near the Qualor System.

Things were not looking very bright for the neighborhood.

xxxxxxxx

Captain Archer peered at the anomaly as it grew closer on the main viewscreen. Its torn side yawned open, revealing stars within the sphere.

Lieutenant Malcolm Reed said, "Looks like someone took a bite out of a giant blue pearl."

A corner of Archer's lips pulled into a half smile. That was as apt a description as any.

Reed added, "Wild, isn't it?" When Archer looked at him, he continued with an expression of awed disbelief, "I mean, another universe?"

The captain nodded, understanding the reaction. The science communities of Earth and Vulcan were still reeling from the revelation of the existence of other universes. Knowing that there are other universes was different from knowing that the Sphere-Builders came from another dimension. "The Starfleet recruitment poster did say 'To boldly go where no one has gone before.' Polarize the hull."

It was back to duty. Reed focused on his console. "Polarizing."

"Travis, forward one quarter impulse."

Travis Mayweather affirmed Archer's command. Hoshi Sato listened intently for any sign of communication from the other side of the anomaly, while T'Pol studied her science sensor readings.

The iridescent anomaly yawned closer.

The thrill of a First Contact filled the captain, even though it would merely be another humanity he would be contacting. It couldn't compare to the thrill of finding humans on the lost colony of Terra Nova or on the Scagaran colony in the former Delphic Expanse. Archer said, "Down the rabbit hole we go."

The starry murkiness within the sphere appeared to roil, taking artificial-looking shapes.

"Captain!" T'Pol said loudly. "A ship is coming through!"

Archer got up from his command chair and ordered, "Full reverse, Travis!"

The blunt tip of a white hull emerged from the anomaly, quickly followed by the rest of its body. Blue paint was on its main tower and spelled EAS _Athena_ on its sides. Archer thought the ship had similarities to the old DY sleeper ships. The larger ship swerved to the side, narrowly missing the front of the Enterprise which was moving quickly backward.

And it was a big ship.

"Apparently, they had the same thought. Hail them!" ordered Archer.

Reed became tense. "We're being bombarded with tachyon particles! No effect on us. Sir, they're arming weapons. Plasma and particle cannons, and missiles."

T'Pol studied the tachyon bombarbment in her science reader. "Captain, I believe the tachyon emission is not a weapon. It is too regular. It is likely to be their primary method of communication and scanning."

Listening to her earpiece intently, Hoshi said, "She's right. The tachyons are modulated to encode messages. I can try decoding the tachyon frequency."

Archer nodded for Hoshi to begin.

After a tense moment, Hoshi shouted, "I got it! Go ahead, Captain."

"This is Captain Jonathan Archer of the United Earth Starship _Enterprise_."

The main viewscreen switched to the image of a human man with stress-induced gray hair at his temples. His eyes widened at the sight of the _Enterprise_'s human captain, then narrowed in suspicion. "_Did you say United _Earth_, Captain? This is the _Earth_ Alliance Ship _Athena_, Captain Timothy Best commanding._"

Captain Archer smiled politely. "It's a surprise for me, too. Looks like we have a lot to discuss."

Captain Best nodded. "_I...I guess we do._"

**Starfleet Headquarters, San Francisco, Earth**

Ambassador Soval watched the footage recently received from the other human military which called itself EarthForce. The viewscreen showed Minbari warcruisers destroying Earth Alliance bases, outposts and ships with shocking ease and ferocity. Soval's eyes expressed his distaste at the recording. The Minbari acted as if they were Vulcans from before Surak's time, but with modern technology.

That wasn't a pleasant thought. Red Vulcan ships wantonly smashing through other alien worlds. Mazar, Mallur, A'kaal, Tandara, Agoran, Pernaia, Coridan, Earth, and Andoria.

All part of a Vulcan Empire.

Andoria. That troublesome world would have already burned long ago if Vulcans were still so warlike. And possibly Romulus. He thought about how the Vulcans had been carefully guiding the humans. A guidance that many humans feel was holding them back in the grand scheme of galactic affairs. Soval had often wondered what would happen if the Vulcans weren't there to guide humanity. This footage was now showing an example of the lack of proper guidance for humanity.

Then again, Vulcans recently were in need of 'proper guidance' due to the...misbehavior of ex-Administrator V'Las. It was fortunate that Captain Archer and T'Pau found the Kir'Shara and overthrew V'Las' High Command. The viewscreen blanked and the lights came back on.

Admiral George Brinton Gardner said, "They look like angelfish."

Soval raised an eyebrow. Humans do have a tendency to utter unnecessary observations.

The ambassador turned in his seat toward Christopher Thorpe. The President of United Earth and Commander-in-Chief of Earth's military forces spoke.

"The other human military, EarthForce, tells us that where the Minbari strike, nothing is left alive. Even ships incapable of fighting anymore are targeted and destroyed, so surrender for them, on any scale, is not an option. The Earth Alliance government is asking, no, _pleading_ for help from us. This meeting of the Command Council will determine the answer to that urgent question."

A woman in an expensive freshly pressed suit leaned forward in her chair onto the table. "What can we do, Mr. President? The Minbari are moving through the other Earth's outer colonies methodically. They're wiping out all military infrastructure, but they're leaving the civilian populations alone. Not like the Romulans, but the Ministry of Defense agrees with EarthForce's analysis that once the Minbari reach Earth, they will turn back to finish their genocide against the civilians."

Admiral Gardner said, "Minister Samantha Clark is right. If we don't do something, the other humanity will become extinct."

The Defense Minister glared at the admiral. That wasn't what she meant. "We are in the middle of a war with the Romulans. Another war, especially a war with such an obviously superior enemy, will kill us."

Another admiral said, "Technologically, we are somewhat ahead of EarthForce in spite of their time advantage. EarthForce has many ships. Hundreds of them, if they are to be believed. Starfleet has too few starships." He glared pointedly at Ambassador Soval here. "Far too few. With an alliance, EarthForce can make up for the number we need against the Romulans, and we can help make up for their technological inferiority against the Minbari. The ideal quid pro quo. They are human, so we can find common ground for the trust required in any alliance."

Minister Samantha looked skeptical, but Admiral Gardner was nodding in agreement. President Thorpe looked indecisive.

Ambassador Soval thought it was time for him to speak. "Admiral Molotov, you said 'in spite of their time advantage.' Could you clarify?"

Vladimir Molotov took a deep breath. "The humans in that universe has been in space for a little less than three hundred years."

Minister Samantha raised a hand towards the admiral. "Wait. Three hundred years?"

"Yes, Minister. The year in that universe is 2245."

The council chamber was filled with murmurs of surprise. The local year was 2156.

President Thorpe said, "Almost a hundred years difference. How is this possible?"

Soval said, "The Vulcan Science Directorate believes that universes running parallel with each other could have different temporal paces. Time in one universe may run slower than in another and vice versa. It would appear that time beyond the anomaly ran faster than ours. Since the opening of the anomaly, we have detected no temporal pace difference. Logically, the anomaly has forced time in both universes to adjust to each other, creating a congruent pace."

The president shook his head. "That's a bit much for me. Interdimensional travel, then time travel? Ok, we're getting off topic. What's important is...do we answer the Earth Alliance's call for help?"

Ambassador Soval said, "We are getting only one side of the story. The full story is needed for our comprehension before the Command Council can make a decision."

Samantha gazed at Soval speculatively. The Vulcan ambassador added, "Vulcan is neutral and will remain so. However, we do not want to see your world destroyed. The survival of Earth, I believe, will affect Vulcan. That survival now depends on whatever decision the Command Council makes on this question."

**EarthForce Briefing Assembly Room, EarthDome, Geneva, Earth**

The huge screen showed the _Enterprise_ on it as seen from the _Athena_. General Fontaine addressed the assembly of EarthForce personnel. "This is the ship that the _Athena_ met through the spatial phenomenon at the Asteroid Belt. As you can see, the writing on its hull is English."

A murmur of wonder filled the cavernous hall. Not a few wondered whether the anomaly was a wormhole leading to some lost human colony.

The newly promoted Commander Sheridan remained silent, thinking about the implications. If the Minbari intended to exterminate humanity, refugees could go through to safety then close the gate behind themselves. When Earth dies, humanity would live on. The wormhole would have to close to keep the Minbari from reaching the lost colony, of course. How can that be done?

General Fontaine continued speaking. "I know it's hard to believe, but this is another universe. An alternate universe. Further investigations has proven it. It has its own Solar System, its own Earth."

A louder murmur, one of surprise, rose from the crowd. Sheridan now studied the ship on the screen more closely. Two Earths. If one would die, there would still be another Earth. Amazing. Perhaps their prayers has been answered by a God with a twisted sense of humor. A soldier raised his hand. General Fontaine nodded for him to speak.

"Sir, does it have its own Minbar?"

Nervous fear crept into the crowd's murmur now. The general raised his hands to quiet them down. "No."

That single word answer did more to quiet the crowd down than anything else the general could do. He could see hope rising in the upturned faces. "We naturally asked our human cousins for help in the Minbari War." Fontaine took a deep breath. "They said they can't help us."

There was silence in the hall, but it was a silence full of disappointment. General Fontaine hated to crush the hopes of these valiant men and women fighting for the Earth Alliance's very survival. He looked to General Lefcourt for help. Lefcourt took up the burden.

"The other Earth's government has agreed to lend us humanitarian aid. Shipments of food and medicine will come through the interuniversal gate."

Anger now rippled through the crowd. A soldier shouted, "They're just like the Centauri! Forget them!"

General Lefcourt waited for the angry murmur to run its course. "The other Earth can't help us, because, just like us, they are at war. Yes, at war with a terrible enemy." Lefcourt pressed a remote, changing the image on the huge screen for all to see. On it was now a space station with nine ships either docked or on patrol around the station. The space station had a thick and tall central hub with four arms sticking out like the spokes of a wheel. Each arm ended in a circular structure. A timestamp could be seen in a corner: 7 March. The year was blurred. The blur was characteristic of EarthForce's brand of censorship. The name of the ship recording the image, though, was left uncensored: UES _Kamina_.

Sheridan wondered why EarthForce would censor the year. It was harmless information, wasn't it?

The general continued. "They gave us footage of the first confirmed attack by that enemy. This is Station Salem One in the Tarod System. In case you're wondering, we are not sure which of our universe's star systems Tarod is, but it most likely is one of the systems now on the Narn-Centauri border. By the way, they don't have Narns or Centauri in their universe or most of our alien races." General Lefcourt stood with arms behind his back to watch the mass of officers on the floor, already knowing what they would see.

Suddenly, areas of space shimmered and green alien ships built like headless birds appeared out of the shimmering fields. Each of the green ships had a golden eagle-like bird painted on the bottom, on the ventral hull, conforming to the shape of the bird-like hulls. The audience gasped at the alien fleet's apparent invisibility technology. They immediately opened fire on the space station. The arms of Station Salem One bent and tore in the assault and the main body of the space station was transformed into a bright mini-sun, covering the few docked ships. When the brief sun quickly faded, there were only tumbling glowing debris where the space station and docked ships were. The white ships not docked at the station began to move in response, but the enemy fleet was already shooting at them. The Earth ships, one by one, either tore apart or exploded. The green alien ships shimmered back to invisibility and vanished. But not before one of them approached the camera which was now fast backing away from the area. The appearance of tumbling asteroids indicated the _Kamina_ was fleeing into an asteroid field. The alien ship fired some kind of blue-white-hot beam weapon at the camera and the image snowed into static.

General Lefcourt turned to the stunned audience. "The entire crew of the space station and nine ships in the Tarod System was killed. Over 3,000 men and women. Only the tenth ship escaped long enough to send this footage before being destroyed. This is what the other Earth is at war with. Like the Minbari, the enemy, they're called the Romulans, are bent on genocide. Perhaps unlike the Minbari, they are also bent on conquest. They have already eliminated several outlying colonies and outposts. The Romulans are doing the same thing to other alien races like those called the Andorians and the Tellarites. Now you understand why they cannot help us against the Minbari. They are extremely generous in lending us humanitarian aid in spite of their war."

Sheridan's eyes dropped down to the floor. Both Earths were going to die, after all. God must have a twisted sense of humor indeed.

General Fontaine took up the podium once more. "Allow me to introduce the ambassador of one of the other Earth's allies. He is acting in the interests of the other Earth and his own homeworld. He was the first alien ambassador sent to the other Earth and now he will be the first ambassador of his people to our Earth as well." He turned to the dark side of the stage and extended an open hand. "Ambassador Solkar of the Vulcan Confederation."

A humanoid man walked majestically on the stage towards the podium. He wore flowing exotic silk robes with aesthetically pleasing colors, and the audience could see from his emotionless bearing and his pointy ears that he was an alien. His silver hair shone in the spotlight as the Vulcan ambassador turned to face the EarthForce audience on the podium. Solkar raised a hand and separated his fingers in the traditional Vulcan V-shaped greeting.

**6 December, EarthDome, Geneva, Earth**

Captain Archer decided he didn't like Mr. Hastur. Hastur had pulled him into this office out of the reception in the main hall of this government building. The captain couldn't believe this man was the aide to the President of the Earth Alliance. Archer had seen the same human pettiness and avarice in the video records of the old Earth before and during the Third World War and in the old courts of the Post-Atomic Horror. He hoped that the President herself was a much better person. Hastur's voice intruded into Archer's thoughts.

"...your uniform is so like the uniforms of the old space program of the United States. Amazing... I do hope we will have a...technological exchange as part of your generous humanitarian aid."

A guard came through the office's doors, nodding at the presidential aide who smiled very widely.

"Ah! Well, Captain, here's someone who would like to meet you."

Hastur gestured for the guard to open the office's door and allow the visitor to enter. The visitor appeared human except for a high crest of hair on his head. His clothes were almost baroque. The visitor's overall antique appearance was incongruent with the modern setting of this office.

Hastur plastered a false smile on his face as he introduced the visitor to Captain Archer. "This is Londo Mollari, liaison to the delegation from the Centauri Republic."

Archer looked at Hastur with surprise. He had been told that EarthGov would keep his existence a secret from other alien governments.

Londo said, "Oh, it's not his fault, really, Captain. An anomaly the size of a moon appears out of nowhere and strange ships start popping out of it. Not exactly a state secret for the Great Centauri Republic to figure out, I think."

The Centauri liaison went over to a cabinet and took out a crystal bottle. Holding it up for Archer to see before pouring the dark amber liquid into a glass, he said, "It's amazing that these Earthers don't have the Centauri vice of drinking all the time. Ah, sherry. With their alcoholic creativity, they should imitate our pleasure, don't you think?"

Mr. Hastur smiled and bowed his way out of the office, closing the doors and leaving Archer alone with Londo. The Starfleet captain looked at the closed doors then at Londo with suspicion. This reeked of dirty politics to him. "Alcoholism has never agreed with human health."

Londo, with his experience of intrigue in the Royal Court, could see what Archer was thinking. Chuckling, he said, "Ah too bad. I requested this meeting. As payment, the Centauri government will not...communicate to other governments about you. The present Emperor is most...concerned about keeping the peace."

"On that, we agree," Archer said carefully.

"Oh come, Captain! The Centauri Republic has never bothered with this part of the galaxy. Fairly uninteresting. For all the Earthers' stuffy view of their own importance, this area doesn't have any military or strategic value for us. But..." Londo held up the glass of sherry as an example. "We are interested in art, trinkets, and eccentricity. This place is simply overflowing with those! You come from another Earth, so it must be the same there, yes? Mmmm?"

"Your point?"

Londo walked across the office to stand close to Archer, eyes gleaming. "A trade."

Londo gestured towards a gilt-framed painting hanging over the liquor cabinet. It showed a wealthy-looking woman sitting and leaning back on her chair and a rose was stuck into her bosom held in by a dark dress with bright laces. "Humanitarian aid is not the only assistance that the Centauri Republic can render. We are transferring extremely generous sums to Earth and in return, Earthers are giving us their valuable artworks. Seems they think that the preservation of their cultural heritage is as important as the survival of humanity."

While Londo was talking, Captain Archer had walked over to take a close look at the painting. It was 'La Comtesse de Pourtales.' Upon reading the engraved label under the portrait, he spun around to the Centauri liaison with shock. "That's a Renoir!"

Londo shrugged. "So it is. This...'Countess of Pourtales' reminds me of my second wife, Daggair. Looks very Centauri, doesn't she? A conniving bitch behind a false smile. I think I will buy it for my first wife, Timov." He chuckled at the thought of Timov having to endure a face that looks like her archnemesis permanently in her chambers.

"But...but this is priceless!"

"Ah, my Captain, priceless things have the peculiar habit of suddenly aqcuiring a price in times of war. Besides, we have been quite generous. I hear that the Emperor is going to build a museum in memory of humanity. Of course, only royal and aristocratic art will apply at the Emperor's new museum." Londo sipped as he admired the painting. Horror kept building on Archer's face. Historically, survival in war has forced people to trade art for money which could then buy weapons, the cultural aftermath was always very messy.

"Too bad my people didn't find Earth in the Countess' era. I think humans of that time would have found my culture quite familiar." A mischievous smile drew on his face. "Of course, with the mood of the Republic at the time, Earth would have become a province of our empire. A viceroyalty at best. Oh well. Anyway. My culture grows decadent, so it will...let's say it would be easily swayed by yet more eccentricities from your Earth. If the Minbari destroy this Earth, the Centauri could still have the benefit of human trade goods from your Earth. The Emperor would be pleased to receive one of your fascinating ambassadors. Yes, I've heard so much about your Solkar."

Archer uncomfortably glanced at the doors, wishing for an interruption, any kind of interruption. "I...guess that may be possible. I'll ask about that the next time I'm home."

The doors opened, surprising both. In came the Enterprise's chief engineer, Commander Paul Stiles, holding a compadd. Archer momentarily missed Trip Tucker who was now the chief engineer for the _Columbia_. Commander Stiles had been one of the best candidates for Erika's starship, so it was a fair trade-off. "Oh, sorry, Capt'n. I din' know you were with someone."

Londo upended the glass, drinking the last of the sherry. With a glance at the Renoir painting, he said, "Well, I'll let you to your business. Do consider the possibilities of what we just discussed, yes?" The Centauri liaison nodded at Stiles as he left the office.

Stiles looked at Londo's retreating back before turning back to his captain. "It may be hard to pick him out of a flock of peacocks. You all right, Cap'n?"

Archer nodded, still frowning and thinking about what Londo said. Stiles said, "Just got this from a Starfleet courier. It's captain's eyes only."

Captain's eyes only. That can only mean bad news. Archer focused on the compadd, dreading it. He took it, inputted his password, and read it. His lips drew into a tight line.

"What is it?" Stiles could guess what was in the report, but he wanted to know before jumping to any conclusion.

"A battle. Outside the Cheron System. The Romulans ambushed the 12th Fleet last month. Most of it is gone."

Stiles' eyes widened. "The 12th Fleet. Isn't that the main defense fleet for the Qualor Sector?"

Anger made the compadd tremble in Archer's hands. "My God, Paul. There were civilian ships with that fleet. Mostly reporters and some tourists seeking the thrills of the military. All dead!"

Paul Stiles wordlessly went to drop into a chair.

Archer steeled himself to read the rest of the compadd's contents. Upon finishing, he gently dropped the compadd onto the desk and stared out the windows at Lake Geneva and the surrounding snow-laden Alpine Mountains.

Stiles looked at him in concern. "Don't tell me there's more. Please, Cap'n, don't tell me the Romulans have taken Qualor."

Archer turned to face Stiles with a mirthless half-smile. "No. Qualor II is still safe. The next part was an internal Starfleet evaluation report. There are...several deficiencies in fleet combat readiness."

"Deficiencies? Boy, do they have a way with words!"

"Starfleet won't be able to sustain an offensive into Romulan space for more than seven months. Worse, the internal investigators doubt that we can respond to the incursions 'within a reasonable time period.'"

Stiles swore.

"Jeez, Cap'n! The Xindi were one thing. At least that was just the superweapon threatenin' to destroy Earth, but these Romulans... They have entire fleets tryin' to reach Earth and smashin' through the colonies along the way!"

Trip slammed a fist into the chair's arm. "Dammit! I heard the Andorians are still makin' 'strategic retreats.' Some Imperial Guard, huh? Even the Tellarites have been attacked near Qualor!"

"I know, Stiles. I know. That is why the Command Council has authorized me to ask for military help from the Earth Alliance."

Stiles looked at Archer as if the captain had gone insane. Or more accurately, as if Starfleet Command had gone insane. He stood up to sarcastically act like a courtly gentleman. "Oh, great! I'm sure the Minbari will politely wait for EarthForce to finish helpin' us before they come in and burn this place to hell!"

Archer glanced up at Renoir's 'Countess of Pourtales,' imagining priceless objects of human cultural heritage being blasted to ashes, and remembering Londo's words. Survival. Looking determined, Archer said, "That is why we are going to help them negotiate an end to the war with the Minbari."


	3. Reaching for Peace

General Lefcourt was briefing Sheridan on his mission to Sector 919. "G'Kar will serve as translator. The United Earth government has offered to help us mediate with the Minbari. In addition to your team, there will be two of their Vulcan ambassadors waiting on the _Enterprise_ for you at the abandoned listening post. They will...help convince the Minbari to be serious about peace."

Sheridan frowned. "If I may speak freely, sir, they have no real interest in our war. They may be human, but they can always just seal that damned interuniversal gate and let us go to hell. They can't be that generous. Frankly, I think they want something from us. The Vulcans. Those pointy-eared aliens are just that: aliens, not human. They can't possibly feel sympathy for us. I'm not sure they can feel anything at all!"

Lefcourt made a small smile. He has met Solkar already. "We will use whatever help we can get. I don't have to tell you how important this mission is, Commander. We're still only a few months into this war. There are millions of lives at risk in the inner colonies, more here in the home system.This has to go well, John. There's no other choice."

Sheridan regreted his outburst. It was just frustrating that they couldn't stop the Minbari onslaught. "And if the only way out is for Earth to surrender?"

Lefcourt pursed his lips and made a mighty effort to keep himself from slumping. "Officially, that's up to the negotiators. Those are my orders. Unofficially... We're losing this war, John. And if the only way the human race can survive is to surrender...then we'll surrender."

**8 January, Epsilon Eridani System, Sector 919**

An Earth shuttle dropped from a Narn cruiser and coasted down to the frozen planet below. Its occupants had already noted the presence of the _Enterprise_ in orbit and had been informed that one of its shuttle pods were already on the surface of the fifth planet in the system.

Sheridan, Franklin and G'Kar entered one of the bunkers of the abandoned post. They found that power was already restored to the bunker and, gratefully, the heaters were running. Three beings were waiting for them. One of them stepped forward, extending a hand to Commander Sheridan.

"I'm Captain Jonathan Archer. You must be Commander John Sheridan."

Sheridan smiled guardedly and shook hands. "How do you know?"

"Oh, your EarthForce has glowing words about you. They say you're the one who destroyed that Minbari warship. I guess we have you to thank for that interdimensional gate."

Sheridan's face turned stonily formal. "Just what anyone would have done in my situation. We'll see if that gate is beneficial."

Archer wasn't sure how to take Sheridan's seemingly cynical attitude. He decided not to pursue it. He noticed Franklin and G'Kar staring openly at the Vulcans. He smiled. The Vulcan man and woman in flowing silk robes must seem otherwordly to them. More so than G'Kar who appeared alien to him as well. Perhaps it was due to the fact that they appear so human yet so alien at the same time.

G'Kar eagerly stepped forward, crossed arms on his chest and bowed. "My name is G'Kar. I will act as translator for you. May I say that I hope you would consider sending another of your ambassadors to the Narn Regime."

The male Vulcan managed to appear condescending while emotionless at the same time. "We do not have a need for translators. We have studied the Minbari languages and downloaded them into our translation devices."

G'Kar looked taken aback.

The older female Vulcan gestured toward the male Vulcan. "Please excuse Ambassador Tos. He is young. I am Ambassador V'Lar. It is agreeable to meet you."

V'Lar smiled warmly.

Franklin was startled. "I thought Vulcans don't have feelings!"

"A common misconception. We do have emotions. We merely suppress them. While most of my people prefer to appear impassive, I personally think it is illogical to discomfort other beings by acting cold and distant. I find it's much easier in diplomacy to emulate expressions that would fit the emotion of any situation with non-Vulcans."

Sheridan found respect for this short old alien woman. She was clearly a skilled diplomat. He still had his Earth interests to protect, though. "Why two of you?"

V'Lar said, "Ambassador Tos has experience in diplomacy with the Klingons. They are possibly more...volatile than the Minbari. He once convinced the Klingon Empire not to send a squadron of warships to Earth. Therefore, Tos is the ideal assistant for me."

Captain Archer's communicator beeped. He opened it and opened the link. It was T'Pol on the _Enterprise_."_Captain, a small craft exited the local jumpgate. Its polycrystalline hull conforms to what we know about the Minbari. There is one lifesign._"

Sheridan tensed. "It must be their representative."

V'Lar went with Tos into a corner for a last minute discussion and preparation.

Archer nodded and said into the communicator. "Acknowledged."

"_Furthermore, Captain, sensors are reading a large artificial power source on the third planet of the system. We can't get a clear reading of it. An unknown type of field is scrambling our sensors. We would like to investigate during the negotiations._"

"All right, T'Pol. Keep your eyes peeled." Archer closed the communicator and looked up at Sheridan and G'Kar. "Know anything about that?"

They shook their heads.

Dr. Franklin said, "In my hitch-hiking travels, I've heard stories about Epsilon 3. Ships tend to disappear if they investigate that planet too closely." The doctor shrugged and looked around, indicating the bunker. "I guess that's one of the reasons EarthForce built this listening post."

While the humans were talking, G'Kar thought he should take this opportunity to gain a valuable asset for the Narn Regime. He leaned conspiratorially close to Sheridan. "If the negotiations fail in spite of the good intentions of these Vulcans, there's a job available for you in the Narn government."

Sheridan frowned and shook his head. "No. If Earth dies, I will die with it."

G'Kar stared at Sheridan. He had thought only Narns knew what loyalty to a homeworld meant. But this... He knew that Narn nationality meant striking back at those who had harmed the Narn homeworld and causing enough trouble for others to leave the homeworld alone.

This human's loyalty to his homeworld caused G'Kar to wonder for the first time. To wonder if the Narn people, like abused children, were overcompensating by continuing the cycle of harm, by lashing out at other neighboring weaker worlds.

For the first time, G'Kar wondered whether the Narn people knew what nationalism, what loyalty to a homeworld truly meant.

The bunker door opened and a Minbari man stood in it. He held a weapon at the group in the bunker, causing Archer and Sheridan reach for their own weapons. He glanced at the two Vulcans with surprise. He saw V'Lar manage to look at his weapon down her nose in spite of the fact that he was taller than her. He shrugged. "It is only a precaution."

All in the bunker were surprised to see that the Minbari spoke English fluently. He put the weapon away in his Ranger's uniform. "I am Lenonn. And you are Sheridan, are you not?"

Sheridan was surprised. "Yes... I thought you weren't told who will meet you."

Lenonn smiled. "We know more than you think. For instance, I know what you did to the _Black Star_."

The EarthForce commander stiffened self-defensively. "I only did what the Minbari would have done. I just did it first."

Lenonn chuckled. "Oh, I understand. It was necessary. However, my people will never forget." He turned to Archer, V'Lar and Tos. "We may know more than you think but there are naturally limits to any knowledge. You are clearly a human, but I do not recognize your uniform. And you two. Your species is unknown to me."

Archer looked to Ambassador V'Lar. It was her field now.

xxxxxxxx

The _Enterprise_ was nearing the seemingly dead planet Epsilon 3. T'Pol was studying the sensor readings on her science reader.

"Fascinating. If our sensors were not based on subspace technology which, so far, do not exist in this universe, the scrambling field around this planet would have succeeded in deceiving us."

Lt. Reed was keeping a watchful eye on his tactical sensors. This kind of scrambling field usually meant a defense system. "I don't think there's anything alive down there."

"Looks dead enough to me," said Travis.

T'Pol looked up from her science reader. "Sensor readings are still not clear enough for me to discern any lifesign. However, there is technology beneath the surface of the planet. It is possible that it was left over from an ancient civilization. It leads me to wonder about this planet in our universe."

Hoshi said, "Everything we've seen here is different from our universe. Even Earth is different here."

T'Pol turned to the communications officer. "Ensign, while that is true, most planetary makeup in this universe remain similar. For instance, in our universe, the fifth planet was originally the same ice planet it is here. It has been terraformed to support a Vulcan colony. Furthermore, in our universe, there are ruins of a civilization on Zeta Tucanae III, but here, it seems that the indigenous species has survived and flourished. We now know them as the Centauri."

Hoshi looked thoughtful. "If that's true, why aren't there any Vulcans in this universe?"

"Or Andorians," interjected Reed. He chuckled. "Phlox was disappointed to find there's no Denobula either." His chuckle turned bitter. "As for me, I'm glad there are no Romulans here."

"I do not know. It will make for a most fascinating study of interplanetary evolution and cultural development for our scientists and historians."

Something attracted Reed's attention. He modified the tactical sensors to look away from Epsilon 3. "Commander, the jumpgate at Epsilon 5 is activating."

T'Pol rushed over to the command chair. Worry threatened to break through her emotional control. She saw Hoshi listen intently to her earpiece and waited for either Ensign Sato or Lt. Reed to supply her with more information.

Reed spoke first. "It seems to be a warship. It's not EarthForce or Narn, either..." Reed widened his eyes and looked up. "It's firing at the Narn cruiser!"

"Ensign Mayweather, get us there now!"

"Yes, Ma'am!"

The _Enterprise_ turned away from Epsilon 3 and went to warp.

xxxxxxx

A Centauri Vorchan-class attack cruiser came out of the jumpgate, all weapons firing. The Narn cruiser, totally unprepared, was quickly destroyed. The Centauri warship homed in on G'Kar's signal which was already activated by the destroyed Narn cruiser trying to warn him. Locking onto G'Kar's location, the attack cruiser launched two missiles simultanesously at the abandoned listening post.

xxxxxxx

The missiles narrowly missed the bunker, but the blast was enough to shake the bunker, damaging it.

Lenonn looked up at the sound of the ceiling cracking. Just before part of the ceiling fell, Ambassador Tos rushed to push the Minbari out of the way. Falling dust and debris covered everything, causing everyone to cover their eyes and cough violently. The humans yelled. Archer rushed to cover V'Lar, while Sheridan covered the now valuable doctor, Dr. Franklin.

The world seemed to break over them all.


	4. Collision Course

_Worker72: There will be repercussions for the Centauri._

_John Lao: The United Earth Starfleet does not have shield technology yet. For now, only the Andorians have Vulcans have it._

_There will be a tip of the hat to the unofortunately incomplete_"No Beast So Fierce..."_ by Verbosity. For those who have read it, it will be clear._

_Enjoy!_

* * *

The Centauri were determined to take away any chance that any Narn would survive to broker an arms deal with the Earthers, create a closer relationship between Earth and Narn, and point the finger at the Centauri for this surprise attack. Just before they launched more missiles to erase the abandoned listening post, a new star appeared to flash.

The Centauri were surprised to see another ship come into the area out of the flashing star. This meant more witnesses for them to eliminate. The Vorchan attack cruiser quickly turned about to face this ship seemingly designed by the Vree.

The _Enterprise_'s new pulsed phase cannons opened fire, drilling holes into the thick Centauri armor with phaser bolts. The Vorchan retaliated. Energy weapons designed to take down much larger capitol warships were mostly dispersed by the Earth starship's polarized hull.

But the _Enterprise_ still wasn't impervious to the weapons. It visibly shook under the impact. More phaser fire raked the Vorchan, attempting to take out the Centauri weapon turrets.

The attack cruiser's captain felt that they didn't have time for a battle. This operation was supposed to be quick, surgical. He gave the order to eliminate the little saucer-shaped ship.

A panel opened under the nose of the Vorchan and a large ball dropped out and made its way quickly to the _Enterprise_. The Earth starship attempted evasive maneuvers, but the gravitic torpedo managed to hit a warp nacelle, detonating powerfully. The starship spun out of control with the rear half of the warp nacelle destroyed and trailing plasma. Light flickered in its windows.

The Centauri captain couldn't believe how fast the little ship was. Only those with the most advanced gravitic technology could maneuver so fast and that script on its hull appeared Earther. It was impossible. Nevertheless, he was satisfied. Now he could finish the operation. But it wasn't over for the _Enterprise_ just yet. And the starship had had enough of the Centauri warship. It soon righted itself and fired photonic torpedoes. One of them happened to impact the Vorchan's bridge, killing all in it. The other torpedoes severely damaged the attack cruiser. The damage was enough to force its crew to take a long time to save the ship.

It was too long. The Vorchan, having never established its orbit, soon dove straight down to the planet below. The atmospheric friction caused it to glow like a firebird, then the Vorchan exploded into the frozen surface of Epsilon 5.

xxxxxxx

T'Pol coughed in the drifting smoke as she picked herself up from the deck, using Travis' console as a support. She nodded at Travis who was working hard to keep the starship stable in its place. The smoke was soon cleared by the atmospheric cyclers. Hoshi was suppressing a fire with an extinguisher with a bleeding gash on her forehead.

Malcolm Reed coughed to clear his throat and reported, "The alien warship has been destroyed. The bloody thing has taken out the starboard nacelle!"

T'Pol glanced at the main viewscreen to make sure. All she could see was empty space and a burning blackened spot on the frozen white surface of the planet. She took the logical conclusion that they had disabled the alien ship long enough to send it down to its death on the planet. Regrettable. They had tried to hail the aliens, but apparently, they were only interested in eliminating all life in their vicinity.

This would mean war, but Earth was already at war with an equally vicious enemy.

"The abandoned outpost?" she asked.

Reed cleared away some debris from a sensor monitor. "Partly destroyed. Both shuttles destroyed. But our people are still there."

T'Pol dragged herself into the command chair. Activating the ship's intercom, she said, "Bridge to Engineering. Commander Stiles, what's the status?"

Stiles' voice floated out and caused T'Pol to have a slight lump in her throat. That was illogical. Trip was on the _Columbia_ now. She must forget about him. _"It's a mess down 'ere! I had to take the warp core offline when they took out the starboard nacelle. Good thing, the core din' breach! Life support is stable. Half the power relays for the hull are burned out. Hold on, T'Pol... Amazin'!"_

"What is it, Commander?"

"_Damn thing's always so sensitive, but this time the transporter made it!"_

"Please go to the transporter and beam up the people on the planet surface. There may be wounded down there."

"_I'm on it! Stiles out."_

T'Pol turned to Hoshi. "Ensign, send out a distress signal to the Solar System. We may need assistance."

Hoshi nodded and returned to her station.

xxxxxxx

Lenonn groaned where he sat against a wall as Dr. Franklin checked him. "He's hurt. Bad."

Ambassador V'Lar was helped up by G'Kar, gathering her torn robes. She knew from her long career as a diplomat for Vulcan that the worst thing that could happen to a sensitive negotiation was an attack occurring.

Captain Archer peered at V'Lar, making sure she was all right and allowed himself to sigh with relief. She could see Commander Sheridan hovering over Franklin, discussing Lenonn's health. She understood his concern. If the alien man died, the Minbari could possibly blame them for his death.

And Tos? Where was Ambassador Tos?

She looked down at where dirtied, but still rich-looking, silk covered a body. The head and shoulders were hidden under the fallen piece of the ceiling. She gazed at the body for a while, not even permitting her face to put on a facade of expression.

So. This universe has killed Tos.

Another worse thing that could happen was giving in to her violent Vulcan emotions and lash out, scream against this universe, scream for blood from those who had done this. V'Lar emotionlessly looked up at Archer. She went attend to the business of Lenonn. She now understood why Captain Archer was relieved to see her alive and well.

Sheridan and Franklin raised eyebrows when they saw V'Lar bleeding. The Earther doctor said, "Green blood. You OK?"

The ambassador waved away the doctor's concerns, preferring to focus on Lenonn.

Captain Archer grimaced when he saw that his communicator was slightly bent. Forcing it open, he activated it.

"Archer to _Enterprise_. Captain Archer to _Enterprise_."

Static came out, broken by a few words: "_...ain...eaking up...bea-...nly two at...and by..._"

Sighing, the captain closed the communicator. At least his ship was still up there.

A soft buzzing whine began to fill the bunker, surprising the Earthers and Lenonn. Archer and Franklin dissolved in blue-white light. Sheridan, G'Kar and Lenonn stared at where they were with eyes popping out of their heads.

"Wha..." Lenonn looked at V'Lar with wonder. "Are we already dead? Have they gone to take their place with the gods?"

"Is it a new weapon?" asked Sheridan anxiously.

The Vulcan ambassador slightly shook her head at both men. She said simply, "_Enterprise_." Then the soft whine sounded again and she dissolved in light.

Sheridan looked at Lenonn, but the Minbari was already dissolving. G'Kar shrugged. "I heard the Vree have some kind of teleportation technology. Quite ineffective in its limits, I hear."

Transmat technology! Sheridan stood up straight and waited for the dissolver to activate once more. He had to keep his stomach from fluttering at the thought of being taken apart. The now familiar soft whine came and his vision filled with starlight while his body tingled. Through the light, he could see the same thing happening to G'Kar.

The world white-washed, dissolving away.

Then the light faded and the tingling feeling went away. Taking a long deep breath, Sheridan saw that he was standing beside G'Kar on a platform in a corridor. A human in that blue Starfleet uniform was standing at a control pedestal, looking at them with concern, while another human waited with a medkit in his hand.

The first thing that Sheridan noticed that gravity existed here. When he moved to pat at his body as he stepped off the platform, he noticed another thing. He had a leg sleeping before, but this feeling was very gently spread all over his body. He hoped he didn't have a few organs misplaced.

He was going to take a shower the first time he's capable, and examine himself thoroughly.

G'Kar was looking down at his own body with a similar dismayed look.

The human at the dissolver control spoke with what Sheridan was amused to discover was a Southern accent.

"You all right? Go with Ensign Wright to Sickbay. Dr. Phlox will have ya good as new in no time."

"You have artificial gravity."

Stiles smiled at Sheridan. "Yes, sir, we do. Ever since a little after First Contact. It's thanks to the Vulcans. I can't imagine null-grav interstellar travel."

Sheridan, impressed, only said, "I see." Only a few of the known alien races had gravity control technology and they guard it jealously. The Centauri, the Vree, the Abbai, the Yolu and the Markab. The Dilgar had it too before they went extinct. Perhaps the Minbari as well.

G'Kar narrowed his eyes around at the _Enterprise_, thinking shrewdly about the implications of that.

xxxxxxx

Dr. Phlox worked with Dr. Franklin on the Minbari lying on the table. The Denobulan took a deep breath and said, "I'm not familiar with his anatomy at all, but he seems to have stabilized."

"Appearances aside, he's hurt really bad," said Franklin.

Phlox nodded and pressed a control on a panel. The table carrying Lenonn moved into the diagnosis chamber.

"Hey!" shouted Franklin. "He needs our help, not a CAT scan!"

Phlox studied the diagnosis monitor and said, "This is not a 'cat' scan. Lenonn is a mammaloid, not a felinoid! This machine scans the entire body and make anatomical diagnoses... Ah! That looks like internal bleeding and _that_ looks like pressure is building up in his meninges."

Franklin studied the amazingly detailed diagnosis scan with a slack jaw. He would be overjoyed if this technology was shared with the Earth Alliance.

"All right, now that we know what's wrong..." Phlox brought Lenonn out of the machine and began to work on the Minbari, while using Franklin as a nurse, instructing him on the use of the medical devices.

xxxxxxx

Captain Archer entered Engineering. "Stiles, what does it look like here?"

"Aw, Cap'n, the warp coils in the starboard nacelle needs complete replacin'! If we were at Jupiter Station, it will take two weeks to fix it up. Out here, it'll take over a month and a half! When we get the warp core back online, we could go at Warp 1.6. Too slow. It would take us up to nine years to limp back to Earth. The hull power relays are easy to fix, so they can be done in no time."

"Stiles, we're in a war zone. The warp core is your priority now. Assign a team to repair the polarizers."

**Two Days Later**

Captain Archer entered Sickbay and Dr. Phlox turned to him. Dr. Franklin was still studying the medical devices and Phlox's menagerie.

Looking at the medical reading above Lenonn's bed, Archer asked, "How is our resident Minbari?"

Phlox and Franklin looked at each other at the question. "As well as he can be. But we can't fix the cranial pressure. It's right under his headbone, so we can't operate directly to relieve the pressure. If it wasn't for the headbone protecting him from the head trauma he got on the planet, Mr. Lenonn would be brain dead by now."

"Yeah," put in Franklin. "All we can do for him is to make him as comfortable as possible. Hope he will live long enough to tell the Minbari that it's not our fault." He shook his head. "The end of the war depends on that cranial pressure now."

The intercom beeped. "_Bridge to Captain Archer._"

"Archer here, what is it?"

"_Captain, sensors are detecting the subspace distortion that precedes the openning of a jumppoint._"

Glancing back at Lenonn on his bed, Archer nodded. "All right, I'm coming. Get Commander Sheridan to the Bridge. Archer out." He looked over his shoulder as he exited the sickbay. "Looks like we're about to find out about peace."

xxxxxxx

A jumppoint opened and two Minbari warcruisers slipped out.

Malcolm Reed gasped. "Good God, they're bloody big! The recordings that EarthForce gave us didn't do them justice!"

The warcruisers were titanic, but one of them was considerably larger than the other. They were beautiful, but the way they were built, they appeared to be frowning at the _Enterprise_.

T'Pol said, "Judging from EarthForce's intelligence, the vessels are Sharlin-class warcruisers. There are differences between the two, however."

"Oh yes," said Reed. "I remember. Sensor stealth, twelve fusion lasers, six neutron cannons, and six missile tubes capable of launching 20-megaton missiles. Nasty buggers."

Sheridan frowned. That was an understatement. _I guess the British penchant for understatements is a constant between the universes._

Archer was anxiously watching the warcruisers approach. He wouldn't like to take his ship against those monsters.

"Scan them, Mr. Reed. I want full information about them. Polarize the hull. Hoshi, hail them."

**Grey Council Command Ship _Valen'tha_**

Delenn of the House of Mir stared at the white planet approaching in the holographic display. The other warcruiser, the _Ingata_, hung against the black of space, keeping pace with the Grey Council's command ship. The others of the Nine were stealing glances at Delenn. She could feel the criticism implied in their looks. Sending Lenonn, the Anla'shok Na of the Anla'shok, had been a gamble. She sighed. They needed to bring the humans to their side for the coming war with the Ancient Enemy.

The voice of Shakiri, Shai Alyt of the _Valen'tha_, carried through the speakers and around the dark council chamber. "_Unknown contact._"

Delenn pulled herself from her thoughts and searched the holographic display.

There.

The lone ship was small and strangely designed. A saucer with two cylinders attached to the back of the saucer. It appeared to have endured a battle.

The Worker caste Satai Durlan squinted at the ship. He whispered loudly, "Is it a Vree saucer?"

Coplann said, "Shai Alyt, who is it?" His voice echoed through the tensely silent chamber. While the captain's voice may come clearly, the chamber was designed to carry echoes of each Satai's voice to help disguise the identity of Council members to the ship's crew.

"_Unknown, Satai. It does not match anything we have on record._"

The Grey Council members traded glances with each other. Delenn reached out toward the ship, causing the holodisplay to focus closer onto it. "The marking is Earther script."

Morann scoffed contemptuously. "Humans. Shai Alyt, commence—"

The captain's voice came clearly once more. "_I apologize, Satai, but we are detecting a faint energy flux throughout both of our ships. We believe the source is the unknown vessel._"

Surprise rippled through the Grey Council. Has the humans discovered new technologies? Hedronn's voice now echoed. "Is the sensor stealth not active?"

"_Indeed it is. We are maximizing the stealth. Satai, they are attempting to communicate with us._"

The Nine glanced at each other. Coplann said, "They cannot possibly figure out how to defeat our stealth already. No one ever has. It is clear, then, that the ship belongs to alien mercenaries, possibly Vree, and they arrogantly announce their employment by humans with these markings. The League of Non-Aligned Worlds is getting too bold in their help for Earth. Ignore them. They already know the perils of defying our wishes."

Many heads in the Grey Council nodded in agreement. Delenn was not among them. "Coplann, we must answer them. We must know exactly who they are and what happened here."

Morann snorted. "Is it not obvious? We know that a Narn cruiser was here. It is not here. That ship is here, damaged in battle. They murdered the Narns and possibly Lenonn."

Delenn took a sharp breath. "We don't know that!"

Morann looked up at the ceiling. "Shai Alyt, are you detecting life on the planet?"

"_No, Satai_."

"There. You see? The humans prove their animal savagery by sabotaging their own attempt at peace with us. Now Lenonn is dead." Morann's eyes made it clear that he blamed Delenn for the death of the Anla'shok Na, Ranger One.

Delenn openned her mouth for a scathing rebuke, then restrained herself. She looked to her fellow Religious caste Satais for support. Dhaliri and Rathenn stared back with no expression. She looked to the Worker caste Satais. They took similar postures. It was painfully clear that the Grey Council was intent on continuing the madness that was this war. Still...they did not know the whole story of what happened here. She didn't yet know how to bring the Council around to her view. She finally closed her mouth, signaling her surrender.

Morann nodded, satisfied. "Shai Alyt Shakiri, commence the attack. After this, we will go to Vreetan to teach them to restrain themselves from helping the humans."

"_Yes, Satai._"

Delenn drew in a breath to order the captain to stop, but restrained herself again. Doubt fluttered within her. Her eyes went up to the ship in the holodisplay.

An emerald beam lanced out from the _Ingata_.

Delenn's breath caught in her throat. Madness!

**UES _Enterprise_**

Captain Archer held himself into his chair desperately as the starship shook violently under the Minbari assault. An EPS conduit blew, spraying sparks. Sheridan grasped onto Reed's console, struggling to keep himself from falling down and hurting himself.

The EarthForce commander was surprised to find he was not breathing vacuum or fire now. This may be a small ship, only the size of a scout ship, but it was tough.

Travis said, "Guess they don't want to talk."

"Guess not," said Archer. "Mr. Mayweather, do your magic. Evasive maneuvers."

"Yes, sir!"

"Mr. Reed, can you target them?"

"I'm having difficulties keeping a lock. They have some kind of scrambling field."

"That's the sensor stealth," said Sheridan. "We've never been able to crack it. I would suggest visual targeting."

T'Pol said, "Visual targeting would prove unreliable and therefore lethal for us. I am detecting a gravity well in each ship. Modify your targeting sensors, Lieutenant Reed. Lock on the gravity wells."

Sheridan's eyebrows climbed up to his hairline. They could do that in spite of the Minbari stealth?

Archer nodded at Reed, grateful for T'Pol's help. "Pulsed phase cannons."

**_Valen'tha_**

Delenn gasped.

The _Ingata_ didn't succeed in destroying the strange ship with its neutron cannon. It was damaged, yes, but a ship that small and fragile-looking shouldn't be able to survive the fire. She gasped once more and it was echoed by the rest of the Grey Council. The ship surged into motion, moving at impossible speeds and avoiding more shots from the _Ingata_. Bolts of angry red energy lashed out at the warcruiser.

Where the shimmering red bolts touched, the polycrystalline armor melted away hotly.

Shock, surprise, and outrage reigned in the Grey Council and in the bridges of both warcruisers. The humans have never managed to hit a warcruiser except in saturated fires and by the most skilled of visual targetings. And the polycrystalline armor didn't refract the energy weapon!

The _Valen'tha_ began firing in concert with the _Ingata_. Few of the energy beams managed to graze the small alien ship.

**UES _Enterprise_**

Lieutenant Reed shouted over the noise of the sparking explosions. "Half the hull relays are burned out again! We can't take any more hits. One more and the Minbari will go through the hull like hot butter!"

Smoke billowed as Archer grimaced. They could use a lot of help. "Photonic torpedoes! Stiles! How's the warp core coming!"

"_The core's offline again! The power fluctuations were too much for the antimatter magnetic containment!"_

In a word, they couldn't warp away from the Minbari yet. "Hoshi, keep hailing them! Travis—" The captain grunted as the inertial dampeners failed to keep up with Ensign Mayweather's acrobatics. "Travis, try to get us away from them. Top speed!"

T'Pol looked up from her sensor reading at the main viewscreen. "Captain!"

Commander Sheridan held onto Reed's console for dear life. He still couldn't believe they were still alive. He turned at T'Pol's shout and stared at the main viewscreen with shock.

**_Valen'tha_**

The Grey Council managed to remain standing when one of the alien weapons pulsed out of the ship like a flaring star and impacted on the command ship. Very undignifying. Coplann was getting very angry.

"They should be dead already! Why are we wasting time?"

Another torpedo detonated against the command ship. Delenn nearly fell over, but Rathenn caught her before that embarassment could occur. "We should stop! Talk to them before this gets any worse!"

Dhaliri pointed at a different area of the holodisplay with an open mouth of shock. "Look!"

A star appeared to flash in a mini-nova and another ship quickly decelerated from the visually high speed.

Satai Durlan's mouth fell open at the sight. "Superluminal technology!"

"Impossible!" shouted the Worker caste Satai Becerr.

The new arrival was a little longer than a Sharlin-class warcruiser, but slender like a needle. The long slender red body of the ship had three intersecting rings around the middle, each ring supported by a tapering pylon connected to the main body of the ship.

A voice came into the council chamber as the red ship opened frequencies with both Minbari warcruisers. It was completely devoid of any emotion and spoken in perfect Adronato.

"_I am Sorik, Captain of the Vulcan cruiser _Shirasna_. I urge you to cease firing on the human ship."_

Such calm certainty! Anyone in Known Space would quail before Minbari warcruisers, but not this one!

And the ship they had been fighting was _human_, as this Captain Sorik claimed!

**UES _Enterprise_**

Hoshi announced, "The Vulcans are telling them to back off."

Smiles and sighs of relief went around the bridge. The Minbari had halted shooting at the starship. Captain Archer looked at T'Pol and winked meaningfully. The Vulcan knew what the captain was referring to. She remembered seeing this type of ship in Temporal Agent Daniels' ship list long before the class took form in High Command plans.

Captain Archer gestured at the main viewscreen and said to Commander Sheridan. "That, my friend, is a Vulcan combat cruiser!"

Sheridan, however, was cautious in spite of this starship's impressive performance. After all, he had known Minbari warcruisers all too intimately. None of the other races would dare stand up to those juggernauts. "Meaning what?"

Reed laughed good naturedly. "The Vulcans are to us as the Minbari are to you. If you're amazed that we've survived against the Minbari this long, think how a Vulcan combat cruiser would do against them!"

Sheridan nodded, not quite believing it. "They should back that up with a warning shot. The Minbari may understand that better than simple words."

T'Pol gazed at Sheridan a moment before answering. "Vulcans do not fire warning shots."

Sheridan widened his eyes.

**_Valen'tha_**

"No! This is madness!"

Coplann and Morann looked at Delenn with contempt in their eyes. Coplann said, "These...Vulcans will learn the error of defying the Minbari and of helping these human animals."

Delenn stared at them, aghast. The Warrior Caste truly wanted to fight! Expand this war to include other species! This war has truly gone out of control, taken on its own life. She was too speechless to respond.

Satai Rathenn, however, was not. "These Vulcans..." He looked up at the red alien ship in the holodisplay. Another part of the holodisplay had become a rectangle showing what Shai Alyt Shakiri was seeing up in the command ship's bridge: a bronze man with jet black hair cut in a severe style, each of his ears tapered up to a point and his eyebrows slanted up in the same way that Dilgar eyebrows slanted. The alien would have looked feral if not for the chilling lack of emotion on his face.

"These Vulcans,"began Rathenn again, "are clearly a new species not known in Known Space, yet they know us. They know us enough to speak the Minbari Religious tongue. We should treat them cautiously."

Satai Hedronn inclined his head toward Rathenn with respect. "The priest is correct. We do not know them."

Outraged that a fellow Warrior Satai would disagree with him, Coplann said, "We did not know the humans when they killed the great Dukhat. We are beating them easily. We will beat the Vulcans just as easily."

Hedronn appeared to waver in his mind.

The Worker Satai Durlan said, "We need to capture these ships for study. The humans may have found some advanced species outside Known Space and enlisted their aid against us. The Vulcans may not know us, making it easy for them to align themselves with the humans. Their Minbari knowledge must therefore be supplied by the Earthers."

Durlan's fellow Worker Satais nodded in agreement. The Worker Caste were the traders, innovators and builders for the Minbari Federation. Any new technology was under their jurisdiction, and the technologies that could be harvested from the two alien ships represented a great boon for the Workers.

Delenn was aghast again. Workers agreeing with Warriors! Usually, the Workers would align with the Priests. This can't be allowed to happen if Dukhat's work is to be done. Too much time is being wasted on this war!

"But...the Ancient Enemy...!"

Coplann said, "Mmmm, if the prophecy is true, then this war is ideal practice for the Warriors for the coming war. The humans has been too easy, true. Perhaps it is time to seek a more...challenging test for the coming war."

"No! Dukhat wouldn't have—"

Morann cut her off. "Who could truly know what Dukhat would have wanted now? He is dead. He was the greatest of Minbari and the humans murdered him in cold blood. These new aliens are now helping the humans. Therefore they share in the crime as accomplices."

Most of the Grey Council was nodding in agreement. Only the three Religious Satais did not indicate their agreement, although Dhaliri appeared to be wavering.

Raising his hood, Hedronn said, "It appears we are ready to vote." The Nine began to pull their hoods over their heads for ceremonial anonymity.

Delenn made one more try. "Not yet!"

"All in agreement with the declaration of war on this new species, remain in the light."

Delenn anxiously watched the rest of the now anonymous Grey Council. The columns of light winked out one by one as a sign of disagreement. Rathenn, Dhaliri, and Becerr. Just three in disagreement. Delenn sighed and sadly bowed her head. She was just one young priestess among a people maddened by blood. She pulled her hood over her head. The light winked out over her, casting her in darkness.


	5. Boom

_Worker72: There will be repercussions for the Centauri involved in the disruption of the peace talk._

_andrewjameswilliams: Vulcan combat cruisers will indeed do better than the _Enterprise_, as you will see here._

_anss123: Skeet's "A Thin Veneer" is an extremely excellent fanfic. Wecannot compare "Clash of Federations" with that as they use almost completely different people and eras. Battles and personal interactions will be very different. The writers of "ATV" is using the entire human history of warfare to tear off our cover of civilization. I, however, amusing onlysmatterings of World War I and II, and the American Civil War for "CoF."_

_Sure, this kind of crossover seems obvious in retrospect, I have to wonder why no one has attempted a crossover using the Dilgar War in B5. Here's a challenge, folks! ;-)_

_Sati James: "Vulvan"? That just created a whole new image in my mind! ;-) As you will see in this chapter, I'm not going to end things too quickly._

**

* * *

**

**UES _Enterprise_**

"Sir!" Reed shouted.

On the main viewscreen, the larger Minbari warcruiser was slowly turning to face the _Shirasna_.

Hoshi gasped at what she heard over her earpiece. "Captain! The Minbari are broadcasting a declaration of war against the Vulcans!"

Archer found it difficult to breathe. He rushed over to Hoshi's console with wide eyes. "Tell Captain Sorik to get out of here! And tell him not to forget taking us along!"

The warcruiser was already opening fire. Emerald beams seared across the void of night, splashing against the _Shirasna_'s shields. The weapons halted momentarily, the cruiser's crew surprised at the Vulcan shield technology. They lashed out once more, much more intense than before, their power having gone to maximum.

But the Vulcan ship was already moving, evading the neutron beams.

Hoshi said, "Captain Sorik is suggesting we leave."

"A very good suggestion, if we can do that!" Archer was angry now. How could the Minbari be callously stupid?

Captain Sorik indicated his willingness to defend the _Enterprise_ by firing phase cannons at the huge warcruiser, searing scars into the polycrystalline armor. The other warcruiser began to face the Earth starship.

Commander Sheridan knew that these humans couldn't resist the power of the Minbari weapons anymore. He rushed over to Archer's side. "Your dissolver, your transmat technology. Can you...teleport anything anywhere?"

"Just about, yes. Only properly aligned shields can stop a transporter beam. Why? You're not suggesting we try hijacking one of those warships?"

Sheridan waved that off. "Of course not. There are 600 Minbari on a standard Sharlin warcruiser. Can your teleporter send a bomb into a sensitive area of a ship?"

Archer finally understood. He ordered Commander Tucker to take care of that.

Travis succeeded in dodging a neutron beam from the _Ingata_, sending the starship on a wild evasion course around the two warcruisers. Since he had brought the starship to between the two warcruisers, the Minbari were now being careful and frugal about their weapons. Reed took potshots at both of them with pulsed phase cannons and photonic torpedoes. The Vulcan ship was holding up reasonably well, gracefully evading Minbari fire. However, damages were becoming apparent on its red hull as its shields struggled to hold up against the powr of the Minbari weapons.

A blip of odd energy soon registered on Minbari sensors and inexplicably, an explosion blew out from the inside of the _Ingata_'s main rear fin. The warcruiser ceased firing and began to drift, crippled. The _Valen'tha_ paused its shooting, stunned at this latest development.

Archer looked at Hoshi. "I think they are in the mood to talk now."

The Japanese woman nodded and opened tachyon frequencies to the command warcruiser.

A Minbari man with a headbone carved to look like a sharp terrible crown on his head soon appeared on the viewscreen. He was looking uncertain, but extremely angry.

"_Humans! What have you done!"_

Captain Archer sat back in his command chair. "If you don't want us to do that to your ship, you better stop shooting at us. Do the same favor for the Vulcans, please."

Shakiri glared at the impertinent human captain dressed in an unfamiliar uniform. He would have liked to just crush the annoying little ship for doing whatever it did to the _Ingata_. Its second-in-command was his friend Alyt Neroon. But he had the holy Grey Council to safeguard. No captain had ever faced the humiliation of having a member or more of the Grey Council killed on his ship. Except for that vicious attack by the human captain Michael Jankowski, of course. The captain, once his superior, had been unable to accept the extreme loss of face and committed suicide. Shakiri had been his second in the suicide ceremony. He gritted his teeth and said, _"Speak, human."_

Captain Archer let out a breath, relieved that the Minbari were finally willing to listen. "We have a Mr. Lenonn on board. I think you will want him back."

Shakiri widened his eyes with surprise and outrage. Surprise that Lenonn was still alive. Outrage that the humans would dare capture such an important Minbari. "_You will give him back to us_."

"Of course, we will. Our doctor is taking care of him."

"_Doctor? If you have done something to him..."_

Archer shook his head and waved a hand at that. "No, no. Someone attacked us. We don't know who it was. But they have killed a Vulcan ambassador, and injured both Lenonn and another Vulcan ambassador."

"_I will not believe that until I hear from Lenonn himself."_

"Of course." Archer pressed the intercom open. "Bridge to Sickbay. Dr. Phlox, they're asking to speak with Mr. Lenonn."

"_Ummm. That is going to be a problem, Captain."_

"What?"

"_What?"_

Both Archer and Shakiri had spoken at the same time at the sound of the doctor's voice. Phlox continued. _"That last hit shook up the place. Lenonn fell out of his bed and hit his head. It caused his meningeal pressure to become a hemorrhage. I'm sorry, Captain. He's dead."_

Captain Archer and his bridge crew exchanged horrified glances. Shakiri was now even more enraged.

"_You will pay for his murder, human!"_

"Just a minute!" shouted Reed, outraged at the incredible accusation.

Phlox was not finished speaking._"Lenonn said this just before he died, Captain. 'In Dukhat's sanctum, there is _isil'zha_.' I don't know what '_isil'zha_' means."_

Shakiri was drawing breath to order his crew to destroy the human barbarians. This human dared speak the name of the murdered holy one! But an echoing voice from the Grey Council Chamber stopped him.

"_Shai Alyt. Let them go. There has been too much death already."_

Shakiri bowed his head, restraining himself from saying 'Yes, Satai.' The humans did not deserve to know that such a holy group existed. _"Go back to your homeworld. Pray with your families, if your savagery even have any divinities. Pray, then face the fires that will come from your heavens."_ With that, the main viewscreen switched back to the view of the two Minbari warcruisers and the Vulcan combat cruiser. The larger ship drew closer to the disabled warcruiser and activated its plasma net at full power, gravitically pulling the _Ingata_ close to itself.

A jumppoint opened and the _Valen'tha_ entered it, pushing the _Ingata_ into hyperspace in front of itself.

Captain Archer let out a breath in relief and looked at the grim expressions on Commander Sheridan and Lieutenant Reed. "Hoshi, contact Captain Sorik. Thank him and ask him for spare parts to repair the warp drive. We're going home."

_And we have a new war to fight._

**Quantum Gate, Earth Alliance Sol System**

The _Enterprise_, with its starboard nacelle now repaired with Vulcan help, was approaching the iridescent gate. The triple-ringed _Shirasna_ had gone on to carry the body of Ambassador Tos and to inform the Vulcan High Council and High Command of the Minbari declaration of war.

Captain Archer stared at the anomalous gate, exhausted. Commander Sheridan, Doctor Franklin had transferred to an EarthForce ship with Ambassador V'Lar and G'Kar. The Vulcan ambassador had taken upon herself the task of convincing the Earth Alliance government to create an alliance with the United Earth government.

It was now up to Captain Archer to convince his own government and the Starfleet Command Council to sign onto the upcoming alliance with the Earth Alliance _and_ to fight a new war against the Minbari Federation.

War. Archer sighed and remembered a professor at Starfleet Academy quoting Plato: "Only the dead have seen the end of war."

The ship entered the anomaly and for a moment, its odd properties made everything appear dim.

Archer squeezed his eyes shut against the sudden blinding light. Carefully, he opened his eyes and was surprised to find himself looking out of a window on a planet with the sun shining brightly down.

Confused, he turned around to see where he was. A familiar man in a dark form-fitting uniform was standing close by.

"Daniels! I thought we're done with you!"

The temporal agent nodded slowly. "I thought so as well. But something has happened which was not supposed to happen."

"The interuniversal anomaly."

Daniels nodded. "That wasn't supposed to happen. Because of it, the timeline is in flux." He turned to lean onto a railing. Archer finally saw that he was back in the huge conference center where, as Daniels once claimed, he would sign a treaty with Vulcans, Andorians, and Tellarites to found the organization called the Federation. He also saw that he and Daniels were now in the opposite side of the balcony that circled around the conference auditorium.

Archer leaned over the balcony rail and squinted across the auditorium to the other side. He could just make out two figures on the balcony across the cavernous space.

_Is that me and Daniels?_

He wondered if he could go around on the balcony and meet himself. Archer of the Romulan War and Archer of just before the destruction of the Xindi superweapon, before Vosk and temporal aliens in World War II.

He wondered how Daniels could jump around in time without meeting himself and causing a paradox.

He also wondered if his memories of meeting Daniels from time to time was also in 'temporal order' to the temporal agent. Was the first time Archer met Daniels also the first time that Daniels met Archer? He shook his head at the insanity of temporal paradox.

Daniels smiled at Archer's expression, causing him to feel like a Stone Age primitive trying to understand how a microwave cooked food without any apparent source of heat. Daniels then turned serious again. "Our...temporal shieldings have protected us from most of the changes caused by the anomaly. In one change, we saw...death and destruction everywhere." Daniels shuddered and raised a finger towards Archer.

Everything shifted and changed.

Archer was now at the bottom of a stair leading up to a door. The door banged open inward from outside. He could see the shadows of soldiers running past the door, and hear the sounds of various types of weaponsfire and screams. Beyond, the sky roiled with thick smoke which were lit by unseen fires.

The dark thick smoke were clearly from burning buildings while the ash-colored smoke looked as if they came from burning lava, a volcano.

Archer gasped. Strange terrifying-looking black ships hovered in the skies. Many were firing purple beams downward and gracefully turning for more destruction. A few of the purple beams sounded as if they were drilling straight into the planet's heart itself. More screams sounded, but this time they were overlaid by a shriek tearing into his mind. The shriek of a banshee announcing death for all.

Everything shifted again and Archer gasped at finding himself back in the conference auditorium with Daniels.

The captain breathed raggedly, his hands shakily finding the balcony rail for support. "Don't... Please don't do that again."

"I'm sorry. You needed to see the severity of the situation. You know the saying that no one can hear you scream in space? That's...not true anymore with those...ships." Daniels shuddered again.

Archer looked at the temporal agent through narrowed eyes. "You said that was one change?"

"Yes. That was one end of the spectrum of temporal changes. The other end has a much stronger and more advanced Federation. Much more than it had any right to be. Mastery of organic and crystalline technology. Mastery of the tesseract sciences, even!" A look of wonder came over Daniels. "A glittering civilization of magical technologies. Magical even to me, a temporal agent. A...a civilization of technomages! But the result was that of a galaxy that feared and envied the Federation. A dangerous combination. The member races were truly not ready for that state of affairs."

Archer gazed at Daniels with wonder. If _that_ change impressed a man of the 30th century, how would it impress him, a man of the 22nd century? "How is that bad?"

Daniels sighed. "That can only come after _centuries_ of galactic maturing. Instincts need to catch up with the intellect. What happened the last time that the human intellect went far ahead of human instinct?"

Understanding dawned on Captain Archer. "The Eugenic Wars and the Third World War."

Nodding, Daniels continued. "Time and the universe always seek a balance. Think of it as a swinging pendulum. Keep the pendulum on one side for too long and it would fall over. The space-time continuum would tear in the imbalance. Captain Jonathan Archer, please find that balance and let the Federation exist in our timeline!"

Archer blinked and he was back on his ship's bridge. The large red dot of the planet Mars now shone on the main viewscreen. The bridge crew appeared unaware that anything had happened to their captain. Although T'Pol was now giving him an odd look.

He sighed. Life was too interesting even for him.

**Former High Command Headquarters, ShiKahr, Vulcan **

Captain Sorik had just finished debriefing the Vulcan High Council about the encounter with the Minbari. He stared straight ahead, not looking directly at any of the administrators and ministers of the High Council. Although the Vulcans sitting at the V-shaped table wore no expression, the air was thick with their distaste, disappointment, anger and grief. And uncertainty as well. A copy of the Kir'Shara now sat on a plinth in the center of the chamber as a constant reminder for the new government not to stray from the Way of Surak as the old High Command had done.

First Minister Kuvak glanced at the small obelisk. From where he sat, the mural of Mount Seleya appeared to rise above the Kir'Shara. Surak had died on top of that mountain, of war-induced radiation sickness, still preaching against the concept of war.

Once more, Vulcan was now thrust into the midst of a war.

"Captain Sorik, you may leave. You, as well as the rest of the High Command fleet, will be informed of our decision about this Minbari confrontation."

The captain of the _Shirasna_ turned about on his heel and departed the chamber.

Administrator T'Pau, no longer looking like a woman of the desert, leaned forward onto her elbows on the table. "Ri klau au ik klau tu," she quoted in Golic Vulcan.

_Do no harm to those that harm you._

"That is what Surak taught us. Reciprocating the Minbari treatment would violate that lesson. By that violation, we would risk straying as far as the traitor V'Las had gone."

Kuvak said, "We have already decided to send embassies to the key worlds of the other universe. Establish a similar web of diplomacy as we have here in this universe. We cannot avoid ships transporting our ambassadors and envoys to be targeted by the Minbari."

T'Pau nodded. "That is logical. Clearly, the embassies to worlds adjacent to Minbari space must cease until we can find a peaceful solution with the Minbari government."

Kuvak made a tiny expression indicating disagreement. "The High Command has been informed that the inhabitants of the other universe do not have the capability to detect ships at warp. They do not even have the capability to detect ships in hyperspace except shortly before the opening of a vortex and then only as shadows." He thought that this limitation had obvious military implications, but that was only the province of the reformed High Command.

The Minister of Science consulted his compadd before saying, "The First Minister is correct. The Science Directorate is investigating the realm of hyperspace and the possibility of using warp engines within that dimension. Using either option of hyperspace and normal warp, our ships can escape the notice of the Minbari."

The High Council exchanged glances of agreement. First Minister Kuvak said, "We shall continue the embassies. We shall add High Command ships as escort. We will not seek any confrontation with the Minbari. That, in essence, does not violate the teachings of Surak."

One of T'Pau's eyebrows lowered in worry about that.

The Science Minister said, "We, furthermore, will also use High Command ships to escort and tractor Earth Alliance ships for the establishment of hyperspace beacons. They, and all of the other species in the other universe apparently, need beacons for hyperspace navigation. Without them, their ships would be lost and irretrievable. Our own ships would share similar fates. Therefore, we need the beacons as well for our own investigation and navigation."

"Agreed," said Kuvak. "The High Command has already agreed to the contract with EarthForce for the construction of a jumpgate in the Vulcan System. Major Talok will coordinate with EarthForce on Vulcan Space Central."

The High Council once more traded glances of agreement. Even T'Pau, dispite her misgivings, agreed.

**3 February, the Qualor System, United Earth territory**

A patrolling squadron of EarthForce starfuries swept past a Tellarite freighter on its way to the United Earth colony of Qualor II.

One of the starfury pilots checked the alien commercial ship on his scanning equipment once more. Tellar had joined the anti-Romulan alliance seven days after the debacle at Sector 919, quite understandably upset over the Romulan destruction of a Tellarite convoy near the Qualor System last September. Even so, they couldn't be too careful about spies, contraband, and disguised attackers, especially with the new jumpgate under construction at the important colony. Tellarites, especially Tellarite merchants, were said to have questionable morals. "Tiger One to Columbia, is it a go?"

A female voice came out of the speakers in the pilot's helmet. _"Tiger One, our sensors have cleared them. Let them go."_

The pilot signaled the go to his fellow fighters and powered down his weapons. He ordered them to return to guarding the new jumpgate. "Aye, aye, Columbia. If only we could fit your sensors on our fighters, Captain Hernandez."

A chuckle came. The pilot rather liked Captain Erika Hernandez. _"That would make it easier for all of us, Lieutenant Sinclair. Subspace sensor arrays are quite bulky, even for us."_ Erika laughed again. _"The governor would have a fit if we started sharing technologies in his space."_

Lieutenant Jeffrey Sinclair grinned. He had met Governor Niazi. A dutiful, but hard man. When panic about the Romulan aggression gripped United Earth's outer colonies, the governor instituted martial law and saved lives and properties from damages that can be caused by panicking mobs. Even though EarthForce was now an ally of Starfleet, Niazi was paranoid about illegal activities and unknown variables in his star system. He was even biting his nails over the new jumpgate under construction just beyond his sky.

Sinclair had to admit that EarthForce was still an unknown in this neighborhood.

Space shimmered and suddenly, Jeffrey Sinclair was blinded by a flash of fiery light. Even as the first heated debris began to rain on his fighter squadron, he realized that the bright light was the Tellarite freighter being destroyed. A green hull sporting a golden eagle-like bird flashed past his vision.

So the rumors were true! These Romulans had the ability to make their ships invisible to scanners and the naked eye!

Experience with the Minbari and EarthForce training quickly kicked in. At least this time, the enemy didn't have the damnable Minbari sensor stealth. "Tiger Squadron, target the green men! Split up in your assigned teams, choose a greenie and concentrate fire!"

xxxxxxx

Centurion Telvor frowned at what the viewer was showing him. Unknown vessels were working with the humans to defend Qualor II against his raid. A space structure of some type was taking form in orbit around the human colony. It looked like a drydock structure for the construction of a monstrously big ship. If the humans felt ready to start building such huge battleships...

Intelligence was faulty. The Imperial Continuing Committee will hear of his complaint.

First study the enemy. Seek weakness. That was drilled into every Romulan soldier at the Imperial War College. Telvor and his soldiers did not know the enemy now helping the humans defend themselves.

A large warship approached the small Romulan fleet now making its way straight for Qualor II. Its hull was dark gray and appeared to bristle with cannons. One-man fighters were now pecking at the Romulan shields, but they were easily picked off by disruptor beams. The boxy alien warship opened fire and pieces of a sun shot forth. The slow fire rained on a warbird, causing its shields to buckle, then collapse. The warbird soon died in the alien fire.

Plasma cannons.

The Imperial Continuing Committee was definitely going to hear from Centurion Telvor.

"Order all warbirds to evade fire from that alien ship. Return fire at it. Increase speed for the planet."

Telvor watched as a human starship moved to help defend the alien ship and to block the fleet's path. The annoying fighters kept the fire on warbirds in range, but soon fell behind as the fleet increased speed. But not before one of the fighters accidentally hit one of the warbirds, smashing into its port nacelle. That warbird, now losing plasma out of the damaged nacelle, slowed and fell behind the fleet.

Like vultures, the X-shaped fighters fell upon the wounded warbird.

Telvor held on as his own warbird shook under phase cannon fire from the human starship that the Tal Shiar identified as the UES _Columbia_. He was satisfied to see return fire raking the saucer section of the enemy ship. Inferior beings were dying on that ship.

A sub-lieutenant came up to him and saluted. "Centurion, the human fleet garrisoning this system will come in range in two minutes 40 seconds."

"Ah yes... Their 10th Fleet. They won't matter. We will depart before they can reach us."

At least, in _that_ respect, intelligence was not faulty. The fleet was supposed to be in another part of the Qualor System, doing an exercise. Overconfidence in the face of Romulan superiority would be the humans' downfall.

A fire lit the night and the warbird shook. Ah, finally. Romulan retaliation had taken out one of engines on that boxy alien warship. Another explosion lit the night. The warbird that fell behind the fleet had finally succumbed to the alien fighters. Telvor smiled with pride. At least they died fighting for the Star Empire. Duty and honor for the Empire.

"Fire one at that orbital structure."

A missile flew forth from Telvor's ship, impacting on the incomplete jumpgate. Blinding nuclear light flashed and engulfed the structure. When the light faded, only two struts remained more or less intact, their panels twisted or melted, while debris spun around the surviving struts.

The boxy alien warship kept firing its plasma cannons in spite of the burning loss of an engine. Telvor frowned. Usually, such damages would have caused a warp core breach, destroying the ship. Another warbird buckled under its weaponsfire and the _Columbia_ seized the opportunity by firing spatial missiles, destroying the warbird in controlled nuclear fire.

Another warship appeared around from behind the planet. This one was clearly built by the same designers as the now burning boxy dark gray warship, but it was smaller and had the similar dark white color as the Earth Starfleet vessels so far encountered in the war. Blue paint wrapped around the ship's central tower. It fired its two particle cannons, barely reaching a warbird. It would be too late to stop the raid, Telvor knew.

The sub-lieutenant spoke once more. "The planet is in range, Centurion."

Telvor gazed at the Minshara-class planet. A living marble of green, blue and white. Very like Romulus. He chided himself. Not like Romulus. No other world could ever compare to the Homeworld. More like one of its colonies, like Sotarek or Chaltok. Centurion Telvor calmly gave his order.

"Fire."

From each surviving warbird, missiles shot forth, trailing ion trails.

Centurion Telvor watched as the alien fighters rushed to shoot down the missiles while the two enemy warships kept shooting at the small fleet of warbirds. Another warbird died. Having done the duty of the raiding mission, two other warbirds converged on the alien warship. The annoying dark warship finally died under disruptor fire.

The white alien warship finally came within range and began firing at the missiles, missing many of the speedy projectiles.

Some of the missiles were destroyed by the enemy fighters, but enough would be left to make the Empire's point for Earth and its allies. They reached a continent of Qualor II and detonated. Each of the missiles become a blinding bright sun, then a mushroom cloud towering into the Qualor sky. Any inferior being in range would be vaporized or burned.

Telvor could see the warp-flashes that signalled the arrival of the human 10th Fleet. It was time to go.

"Cloak."

The reduced Romulan fleet shimmered into invisibility and vanished. Turning to the direction of the nearest Romulan Imperial Fleet base, Centurion Telvor took satisfaction in a mission accomplished. Although...

The Imperial Continuing Committee _will_ hear his complaints.

xxxxxxx

Governor Niazi gently caressed the long fingernails of his wife as he gazed across the lake that filled an ancient crater in the valley. As he enjoyed the feel of the edge of his wife's nails against his fingers, Niazi looked up at the clear blue sky. He could see one of the two small moons hanging in the clear blue sky of Qualor II. The bone-pale half-moon drank the sky's blue color through its amorphous ragged edge. Some distance beside the moon was a much smaller, even paler and more papery moon. In the governor's planet-bound angle, the new jumpgate appeared to be a pair of scarcely visible appendages, stubby dragonfly wings. A flash, looking like that of a distant mirror reflecting the sun, appeared on the faint ghostly shape of the jumpgate.

Puzzled, Niazi looked to his wife. She didn't see the flash of light as she drank in the fresh breeze coming over the lake. She stood up from her recliner, holding two tall glasses, and said, "I'm going to get more Denobulan passion juice. Want more?"

Already forgetting about the flash of light in the sky, Niazi smiled and nodded. As his wife went into the villa behind the lake-side deck, Niazi went back to studying the sky over the green bowl of the valley. He noticed a cloudy streak moving across the blue sky. It looked like the contrails of ancient airplanes back on Earth. It must be one of the EarthForce shuttles or transports coming to the spaceport in the capital. Although... He frowned at this contrail. It was moving too fast. The cloudy streak disappeared over the green hills. That direction was not where the capital was on Qualor II. The sky over where the contrail disappeared suddenly glowed bright as if a sun was born beyond the hills. A new cloud appeared over the edge of the hilly curve. Governor Niazi sat up in his recliner, alarmed. His alarm increased as his comvids rang for his attention from inside the summer house. A rumbling noise reached his ears and he could see trees bending as if to bow in respect to the governor from where the contrail disappeared. As the wave of trees bending reached the lake, the water appeared to roil under the now dirty shockwave. The ground began to vibrate under the house. Horrified realization had the governor jumping from his recliner to the stone rail of the deck and crouched in a fetal position against the low stone wall.

"Here's the Denobulan passion jui... Honey, what's going on?"

Niazi, suddenly remembering his wife, turned to look at her standing in the open glass French window-doors, holding two tall glasses of a dark yellow liquid, the cold of the liquid already creating dewdrops on the glass. The rumbling became a roar that made his shout silent. He could see horror and terror rising in the beautiful face of his wife as she silently screamed in the roar. The kinetic shockwave finally reached the governor's summer home, covering everything in brown and black debris, shattering the glass in the windows and doors. Everything went stormy dark for Governor Niazi of Qualor II.

xxxxxxx

Lieutenant Jeffrey Sinclair watched in horror as atomic fire smothered parts of one of Qualor's continents, instantly snuffing out hundreds, if not thousands, of lives.

Human lives.

So this was how this war was fought. He had not really credited the reports of atomic weapons being used. Although they were bent on genocide, not even the Minbari used nuclear weapons to wipe out populations. Anger rose within Sinclair and he shouted for all fighters to target the green alien warships. This was not his universe, but the people dying down there were _human_.

The 10th Fleet finally arrived. The white triangular and circular starships, each with two cylinders attached, immediately began to maneuver toward the smaller Romulan fleet.

But invisibility was already rippling through the Romulan fleet, hiding it from everyone in the Qualor System.

Sinclair thought of his conversation with Captain Erika Hernandez only minutes ago. Was it really just minutes ago? Governor Niazi of Qualor II _will_ be having fits, if he hasn't already. If he was still alive down on the planet.

Heads will roll.

**Marigol System, Centauri Republic, a month later**

The light of warp-flashes appeared in the star system for the first time ever. An EarthForce Hyperion-class ship was held between two Vulcan ships with tractor beams. One was the _Ti'Mur_ and the other was the _D'Kyr_, both Science Directorate ships. Accompanying them was an Andorian Imperial Guard warship.

Captain Ellis Pierce shook his head in wonder.

The warp drive! Faster than light travel in real space. From the explanations offered by the Vulcans and the Andorians, their warp technology was slower than hyperspace travel. But such a flexible FTL technology! With a warp drive, Captain Pierce could take the EAS _Hyperion_ anywhere in the galaxy without the limitations of jumpspace beacons and dangerous gravity echoes. The United Earth Starfleet and the Vulcan High Command had come up with the strategy of warping an EarthForce ship to a location, drop a jumpspace beacon, then move on to the next location. Much faster than any Explorer-class ship could ever go and do.

This time, the strategy would be different in this universe. The 33 Trianguli star shone upon the Centauri colony of Marigol on the third planet. Its moon—more like a planet!—hung stark and unwelcoming. Pierce knew that the Centauri had penal colonies on that lunar planet, mining for the crystals needed for matter/antimatter reactors on large Centauri ships.

On pre-First Contact star charts, this system was the 33 Trianguli System. According to the best intelligence of Andoria and United Earth, the Romulan homeworld was in their universe's 33 Trianguli System.

They could have used the Marigol Jumpgate to come here, but Emperor Turhan was concerned about peace and the appearance of Centauri neutrality for the Minbari. The Vulcans obligated by bringing them to the farthest Earth Alliance jumpgate, then warping across the breadth of the Centauri Republic to this system.

"Sir," called out a bridge officer. "The Andorians are asking for you."

"Put them on." The Andorians! That was another wonder for Ellis Pierce to think about. _Blue_ aliens with _antennae_!

The communication screen lit up with an image of the Andorian captain, complete with antennae waving around over the feathery white hair.

"Commander Dalen."

"_Captain Pierce. The Andorian Imperial Council will appreciate the help you're giving us with this project. Even if we have to work with...Vulcans."_ The female Andorian nearly spat at the name of the pointy-eared people. Pierce wondered why the Andorians seemed to have such antagonism with the amazingly calm and logical Vulcans.

"It's no problem, Commander. Anything we can do for our allies. If the project succeeds, then we will have all the help we could ever need from you against the Minbari."

Dalen smiled, her antennae pointing forward, unconsciously trying to taste Captain Pierce's air. _"These Minbari seem...a worthy challenge for the Andorian Imperial Guard. It will have to wait until we defeat the Romulans."_ Dalen looked offscreen, hearing something from her crew. Grimacing, she said, _"The Vulcan, Captain Vanik, is hailing us. I would much sooner fly my ship into the face of Minbar."_

Pierce gave the Andorian a lopsided grin. "Until then, Commander Dalen." The commscreen blanked. "All right people, we have work to do!"

Down below in the belly of the _Hyperion_, Pierce knew, the best scientists in the Earth Alliance would be rushing eagerly to work with the Vulcans on the project.

Project Quantum Drill. They would attempt to recreate the phemonen of the quantum gate back in the Solar System. The anti-Romulan alliance was hoping to use this recreation and make a decisive strike at the Romulan homeworld, quickly ending the Romulan War.

Captain Ellis Pierce hoped the project didn't take too long. The Minbari were marching through the stars and his beloved Earth hung in their path...


	6. Marching Toward Pain

**_Worker72: The Vorlon element will be explored later as the story progresses._**

**_The Romulans don't yet know about the Project Quantum Drill. Of course, they wouldn't be happy at all if they knew._**

**_Thanks, everyone, for the comments!_

* * *

**

**Imperial City, Centauri Prime**

In the Grand Hall of the Royal Court, Emperor Turhan, in full regalia with a high crest of dark brown hair, stood to the left and several steps below his throne. This event required Imperial humbleness rather than Imperial lese majesty. His third and favorite wife, Morella, was in her regalia of an empress and stood to the right of the throne and two steps below that of the Emperor. Down the length on two sides of the Royal Court stood courtiers behind a line of Royal Guards. Standing behind the throne were the four women of the Emperor's Own half hidden in sheer Imperial-white veils. Standing with Grand Fleet Admiral Dromo and Royal Guardsman Elite Tavastani was the youthful Crown Prince Beyon and his personal bodyguard.

Turhan stole a quick glance at Morella for self-reassurance. This embassy would be one of the most important in his reign. The grand doors sedately opened and several Royal Guards and a courtier holding a long baton out in front marched in. Everyone, high hair-crested lords and shaven-headed ladies, in the Grand Hall strained to see the embassy behind the ceremonial escort, while the lines of Guardsmen stared straight ahead. When the courtier holding the baton came to the spot directly under the central dome of the Grand Hall, the group stopped. The baton-holding courtier took up his role as Royal Crier and spoke.

"Your Most Illuminated Majesty, I bring you the illustrious ambassadors from the Vulcan Confederation."

Turhan silently nodded once, and the crier and Guardsmen turned to march diagonally to the left of the Emperor, giving way to the three Vulcan diplomats who then marched forward to stand a few feet away from the steps to the throne. The Vulcan in the lead was an aging man with silver hair. He bowed, radiating regal serenity.

"I am Solkar, Ambassador to the Earth Alliance for the Vulcan Confederation." The old Vulcan turned to gesture towards a woman in colorful silk robes and an exotic headdress. The blue headdress was pharaonic high and was held down to her head by a shimmering gold-embroidered red ribbon going under the chin. "This is V'Lar. She will be our ambassador to Centauri Prime."

Turhan studied the ambassadors as the Royal Court murmured. The courtiers were a little surprised at having a woman being in a position of power at Court. She may be an alien, but she was a woman! Turhan stepped down to the floor of the Grand Hall and gestured at a courtier to speak the speech of Imperial gratitude. He was rather proud of the speech. The best Royal psycholinguists had labored over it. Grateful, but dignified. Elegant, but strong. But then he was interrupted by Solkar.

"Your Majesty, appreciations are not necessary."

The Court quietly gasped at this insult to the emperor. Morella frowned imperceptibly.

Solkar gestured to the third Vulcan. "We also come with regrets. This is why I came here from Earth. My presence emphasizes the importance of these regrets."

The Vulcan man was carrying two poles stuck to each other and he stepped forward and planted the poles on the floor. He pressed a button on one of the poles which then extended legs for support. He pulled the other pole away from the standing pole, revealing a gossamer screen between them. Once pulled to an appropriate distance, he caused legs to be extended from that pole as well. Turhan saw it was a portable vidscreen. A difficult and very expensive piece of technology.

Solkar raised a tiny remote in his hand and the Royal Guards tensed for a possible weapon. Ignoring them, the ambassador activated the portable vidscreen.

The whole Court could see the amazingly clear and life-like image of a Centauri Vorchan-class attack cruiser lobbing missiles at a snow-covered planet and firing at the camera. The whole battle played out for the Court and they were horrified and angered when they saw the Vorchan defeated and diving to its fiery death on the planet.

Turhan frowned. He didn't share the militancy of certain Centauri lords, but this was an affront to his Royal Navy. "I was not aware that our ships are a target for you and your allies. We will not tolerate this!"

Solkar raised an eyebrow and V'Lar stepped forward. The Vulcan woman said, "This ship attacked a Narn cruiser and a United Earth starship without provocation and severely disrupted an attempt at peace between the Earth Alliance and the Minbari Federation."

Murmurs rippled through the Royal Court and Turhan looked confused. "While we do not approve, skirmishes between the Centauri Republic and the Narn Regime is not unusual. What do you mean a peace attempt between Earth and Minbar? We have not heard of this."

V'Lar gazed into the emperor's eyes unblinkingly. In her mind, she again saw Ambassador Tos lying on the ground with his head crushed under a piece of the bunker on Epsilon 5. "The United Earth Starfleet and the Narns were assisting in a mediation between the Earth Alliance and Minbar to stop the Earth-Minbari War. As a result of this attack, the mediation has failed, a Vulcan ambassador, a friend of mine, was killed and a Minbari luminary was fatally injured."

Turhan widened his eyes and shot a glance at the Grand Fleet Admiral Dromo standing beside the throne dais. Dromo was looking shocked and ashamed. Turhan spoke, hoping to stave off trouble for the Republic. "We…are not aware of this or of the circumstances surrounding this unsanctioned attack."

Solkar made a small bow. "Even so, there are consequences. Vulcan is willing to maintain an embassy on your homeworld to prevent further such misunderstandings. However, no Centauri is permitted to enter the Quantum Gate in the Sol System into our universe. We…do not wish a war with you. The Earth Alliance does not want a war with you, either. Although the Minbari has declared war on Vulcan and United Earth as a result of this disruption, we do not wish the Centauri people to suffer for the error of the few on the ship that attacked us."

Turhan struggled to keep himself from blanching. He imagined Minbari warcruisers smashing through the Centauri Republic. He seriously doubted the Royal Navy could handle such a war. "We sincerely thank you."

Empress Morella studied V'Lar. "But there is more…."

The female ambassador inclined her head. "Indeed. We have not officially shared the recording with the Narn delegate present at the meeting. However, we cannot guarantee his ignorance of the identity of those who destroyed the Narn cruiser present."

Turhan stared at V'Lar. Outwardly, he was all calm, but inside he was boiling, angry at the idiocy of the militant elements within his government and military. This meant yet another concession he has to make to appease the Narn Regime. He hoped that it would be enough to keep his reign a still peaceful one.

Empress Morella began to breathe hard, almost panting. The whole Royal Court's attention was attracted to her. It was known that she was a prophetess and seeress, almost on par with the High Prophetess of Tuwain. The Vulcan embassy watched Morella curiously, sensing an import in her.

"This I Foretell…and swear under the Great Maker that I cannot say any clearer. From this day forth, Centauri Prime marches toward pain and division. The Darkness will rise, and I cannot see the shining of the Light after it. Where the universe has wept one tear, it will weep thousands…. This I Foretell. Pain and division come to the star nations, and this visitation from the other universe stands at the heart of it. It will end…" Morella gasped at whatever she saw. "…in fire!"

Emperor Turhan watched sadly as Prince Beyon hurried to help Morella compose herself again. It would seem that a peaceful reign would be out of his reach.

xxxxxxxxx

Turhan, now without his wig of high dark-brown haircrest, stood in the Imperial Gardens, studying the stars in the night sky of Centauri Prime. Each star in the sky was a fire capable of consuming whole fleets and worlds. His mind went back to his third wife's ominous prophecy once more.

The Vulcan ambassador V'Lar and Grand Fleet Admiral Dromo came up to the emperor.

V'Lar made a bow that would impress even the High Priest of the Great Temple. "I am here, summoned by Your Majesty."

Turhan studied the stars for a while longer. Flames in the sky. He then turned to look at V'Lar and Dromo. "I have spent my entire reign laboring to steer the Centauri Republic to a path of diplomacy away from that of conquest. It is perhaps fortunate that the space that the Earth Alliance now occupies has never had any military or strategic value for us. The only value Earth has for us is trade goods and the hope that we can ride its wave back to the glory days of Empire. Did you know that in my father's reign, plans were made to conquer the Earthers, to annex their worlds into the Republic? We had thought that the Earthers' penchant for empire-building would be assimilated and push us to ever greater heights than before?"

V'Lar raised an eyebrow. While the Centauri were not as powerful as the Minbari, the humans would have a hard time resisting the Royal Navy. "It is fortunate that you prefer diplomacy to warfare."

Turhan gazed at the Vulcan sadly. "Yes. Yes. My first act when I ascended to the throne was to cancel those plans. I reasoned that the costs of such a conquest would outweigh any possible gains. Several years later, I was proven correct when the Earthers drove the Dilgars back to their home system in the Dilgar War. Now there's a war that would chill the most hardened Centauri who once ruled Narn. Entire worlds drowned in blood and death at a whim." Turhan sadly shook his head. "So much has been lost, so much forgotten, so much _pain_, so much _blood_! And for what? I wonder. The past tempts us, the present confuses us, and the future frightens us. And our lives slip away, moment by moment, lost in that vast, terrible in-between!"

Dromo stared straight ahead formally, but T'Vran could see that he was embarrassed by the emperor's outburst. She moved to smooth over relations with him. "Your Majesty, you are the Emperor. You have the power to choose a better path than that. You have made that laudable decision to use diplomacy rather than the sword."

Turhan smiled softly. "You are like the members of the Minbari Religious Caste. I hope that my son, Prince Beyon, will have the benefits of your wisdom and continue my work for the Republic. We will remain neutral in the Earth-Minbari War. I hear that you are conducting experiments in the Marigol System. I don't know what it is and if it concerns your war, I don't want to know. I will ask you to continue respecting that neutrality."

T'Vran bowed once more in agreement. Turhan turned to Grand Fleet Admiral Dromo.

"Dromo, go and find out who ordered the attack on the peace conference at Epsilon 5."

Dromo smartly and curtly nodded once and turned on his heels to go back into the Royal Palace.

"Ambassador, when he finds out, those responsible will be punished severely. If it is an entire House responsible…. Let's say if the House member is found guilty of treason, the laws demand the Imperial confiscation of all properties wealth belonging to that House. The only way to save the House from such ruin is for that member to fall on his sword."

T'Vran was intrigued by the fact that if she didn't have her Vulcan emotions under rigorous control, she would be feeling a chill. A chill which was not part of the night's cool temperature.

**Ra'tleihfi, Romulus**

An ornate and large vertical banner showing the emblem of the Romulan Star Empire hung between two pillars. Each of the pillars supported a small flame on top. In front of the curving wall was a long curving table at which sat nine Romulan men and women. Many of them wore the robes of senators, while others were in military uniforms or civilian clothes. Facing the long curving table was an arrowhead-shaped table at which sat another Romulan man in a military uniform.

The woman sitting in the center chair at the long table emotionlessly studied the man facing the table, and spoke.

"Centurion Selin Telvor, you are appearing before the Continuing Committee of the Romulan People. Any statement will be made part of the official record."

Telvor stared straight ahead dutifully. Praetor Lai was a seasoned politician and had survived more than one coup attempt. He had heard that she was a woman who rarely allowed anything to stand in her way. She continued to speak.

"The Secretary of the War Plans Council, Senator Vrax, has informed this body of your…complaints concerning the Tal Shiar's competence. We are most eager to hear the report directly from you."

Telvor unconsciously sat up straight for Praetor Lai. "I have been ordered to lead a raid into the Qualor System against the humans. There were unknown aliens in the system helping the humans build what appeared to be a drydock for a very large battleship. Alien battle crafts were on hand to help the humans resist the raid." Telvor resisted the temptation to take a glance at Senator Vrax and continued his report to Praetor Lai. "I was told by the War Plans Council that the loss would amount to one warbird at the most due to resistance by the human Starfleet vessel _Columbia_. At the least, the one warbird would be damaged, even disabled by human fire and it would self-destruct before anyone attempt a boarding. Praetor, this has not happened. Instead, three warbirds were lost before we could carry out the raid and cloak. The presence of the alien unknowns meant intelligence about the Qualor System and the humans' network of alliances was faulty."

The Committee members traded glances and most stole a look at the Chairman of the Tal'Shiar beside the Praetor.

Lai only studied Telvor. If the Star Empire was to succeed at conquering everything that stands in the way to Vulcan, they must know everything there is along the way. Without knowledge, Reunification would not be possible. She did not look at the new Secretary of Reunification sitting in the Committee. The secretary was the only non-Romulan at the table. So far, V'Las has been helpful and informative.

So far.

"Centurion, why did you not investigate the alien unknowns?"

"Praetor, I was given a timetable by the War Plans Council. My task was to go straight to Qualor II, launch atomic missiles at the planet then leave before the human 10th Fleet could get us. Any resistance encountered was to be combated minimally. If we had taken the time to investigate the unknowns or launched missiles at them, we would not have achieved our mission for the Star Empire. Worse, the human garrison fleet would have gotten to us before we reached the planet. I have no wish to fail you and face dishonor."

Chairman Sehan of the Tal'Shiar leaned forward, wordlessly seeking permission from the Praetor. Lai nodded for him to speak.

"Do you have evidence to back that up?"

Telvor nodded. "Yes, Chairman." He placed a datapad on his table. Chairman Sehan looked at the datapad as if it was a hissing and coiling snake.

"Centurion, you are dismissed. The Committee will study your report and evidence at length."

Not showing his relief on his face, Centurion Telvor stood and smartly saluted by knocking his chest with a fist and throwing the fist out in front of him, turning the fist into a flat open hand. "Jolan tru."

xxxxxxxxx

Admiral Valdore watched the viewscreen with Senator Vrax and Chairman Sehan. The screen showed the alien boxy ships, X-shaped fighters and the destruction of the drydock-like structure in orbit of Qualor II.

Senator Vrax was the first to speak. "Notice the human script on the alien vessels."

Chairman Sehan commented, "Look at the fighter craft closely. You will see what appear to be humans in spacesuits in the fighters. Perhaps they are a subsidiary human species."

Valdore arched an eyebrow and smirked. "A lost human colony reunited with Earth? Like us?"

Sehan looked at the admiral expressionlessly. "We have not reunited with our motherworld yet. We must seek out the subsidiary human world if we are to know about our enemies. A change in military strategies should be in order."

"No," said Senator Vrax, Secretary of the War Plans Council. "It is not necessary. The Empire is advancing on all fronts successfully."

Valdore frowned. He once made the mistake of questioning the precept of unlimited expansion and was expelled from the Senate for his trouble. He had vowed never to repeat that mistake and to remember that he was born a soldier of the Empire. Nevertheless, he was tempted to ask that fateful question again: 'Is conquest truly the best course for our people?' Even though Vrax was his friend in the Senate, he was not really a friend outside it, not anymore.

"Perhaps, Senator, we can send a spyship for reconnaissance and to look for that other humanity's world."

Sehan scoffed derivesively. "Have you forgotten, Admiral? We're at war. Warfronts are everywhere. Earth is too far away. The spyship will need refueling. When it does, it will be noticed and shot down. No. We'll rely on Major Talok. Our good agent is on Vulcan Space Central so he should be able to tell us."

Admiral Valdore smiled. It had been only a few years, but clearly, the Senate and the head of the Tal'Shiar had forgotten. "That is still not enough. There is one way to get a ship past the fronts. Senator Vrax, do you remember the telepresence drone-ship?"

The senator frowned and spoke dismissively. "That experiment was a failure. We do not have the telepath for it. You killed the last telepath."

Valdore narrowed his eyes, almost bristling. The Aenar Gareb had betrayed them, so he deserved death. But that was past. They needed to focus on the present. "We do not need to have telepresence. This time, the drone-ship will have a crew on it. The scientist Nijil has been working on the technology on Remus these past years."

Vrax put a hand up to his chin, thinking.

"Do it."

**G'Khamazad, Narn**

G'Kar watched proudly as the ruling Kha'Ri roared their outrage. He had just told them that it was the Centauri who destroyed the cruiser at Epsilon 5 and nearly killed him, the Conqueror of the Tuchanq.

Kha'Mak stood up from his seat in the council stadium and shouted, "Too long have we suffered the Centauri! They have raped our homeworld and now they seek to murder our people without provocation! I, for one, cannot wait for the day we can burn Centauri Prime, sow salt in its soil and use Centauri leg bones for flutes to give our children!"

The council stadium thundered with the Kha'Ri's approval.

G'Kar raised a hand for the council to listen to him. "We can use this to our advantage without costing a Narn life. The attack has caused the death of an important Minbari. It has killed a Vulcan ambassador and damaged a starship of the other Earth. The other Earth and Vulcan have refused to go to war against the Centauri, busy as they are with their own problems. They've even refused to share the visual record with us."

Groans filled the chamber.

"But! But the Minbari are powerful enough to handle the two Earths and Vulcan. They should be powerful enough to strike at the Centauri!"

The stone floor and platforms rumbled the Narn councilors stamped their feet in approval.

G'Kar gestured at a commscreen set in front of the council stadium. "May I?"

Kha'Mak looked around and, seeing approval in the faces of the other members, nodded.

G'Kar activated the screen and soon established a link to Minbar. A Minbari face appeared on the monitor. It was Callier. Narn intelligence had determined that Callier was someone people should contact if they want the Grey Council to know something. Therefore, he would be open to Narn communications and be that much more betrayed by the Centauri attack at Epsilon 5.

"Callier, I have something to tell you. Something that might change your relationship with other worlds such as Centauri Prime and Narn…." With that, G'Kar launched into a description of what he knew: that a Centauri Vorchan-class attack cruiser sent missiles smashing into Epsilon 5, injuring an important Minbari named Lenonn, thus causing his eventual death. As he spoke, everyone in the chamber dreamed of Minbari warcruisers smashing into the Centauri Republic and Narn ships following in their wake to take custody of burning worlds along the way.

When G'Kar was finished, Callier was looking pensive. _"I…see. What, if what you say is true, would you suggest?"_

G'Kar's red eyes gleamed with eager hope. "An alliance! An alliance between our governments. Yours is the oldest of the five major star nations and ours is the youngest. Technologically, you're centuries ahead of everyone else! We have _unlimited manpower_ and the will to use it! Can you _imagine_ what we could achieve together?"

Callier coldly studied G'Kar's face on his monitor on Minbar. _"I can. Which is why I cannot allow it to happen."_ The faces of G'Kar and the entire Kha'Ri fell. Callier was now looking indignant. _"Your perceptions are colored by your history with the Centauri! As former slaves of that government, you would seize any opportunity to raise a force against them!"_

G'Kar was stung and seized his turn to be indignant. "We were never slaves! Our world was invaded, our people—"

Callier angrily cut him off. _"Yes. You were slaves and you're acting like immature abused children trying to deny their reality! No. You have brought no evidence about the Centauri. Just your words as a witness. A witness distorted by hatred! Good day, G'Kar."_

Callier cut the link.

G'Kar was left standing, opening and closing his mouth over and over. He had been so sure that the Minbari would send their fire burning into Centauri space. He had never been so humiliated, especially in front of the entire Kha'Ri. Silence reigned in the council stadium.

The silence was filled with frustration.

G'Kar whirled to face the Kha'Ri. He had to save himself, save his own face. "Kha'Ri! You see the Minbari! So haughty! So arrogant! They're hypocrites! They're slaughtering the humans and they don't have the courage to do the same to our former oppressors! If they think we can endure this…this…_humiliation_ from someone who doesn't understand us at all, they're _wrong!_" We'll show them who have the willpower!"

The Kha'Ri howled and chanted their lust for justice. _"Down with the Centauri! Down with the Centauri! Down with the Centauri!"_

**NX-06 UES _Heisenberg_, en route to Draken IV, Andorian Sovereignty**

Tobin Dax nervously bit his fingernails as he anxiously watched the other engineers repair the damages in Engineering. He thought of home on far away Trill. He thought of how his previous host, Lela Dax, would think of him working on an Earth starship and being involved in an alien war. He was sure that the Trill government disapproved of his involvement, but Lela would see it as a step for Trill to join the galactic community. Even so, his confidence was not boosted by the _Heisenberg_'s recent reconnaissance into the Gamma Virginis System. Due to the ship's NX class, it was one of the very few Starfleet vessels capable of high warp speeds, thus ideal for recon.

He remembered how the former Andorian star system seemed empty. He remembered the terror of Romulan ships suddenly decloaking and attacking the Earth starship. Tobin's teeth clicked loudly as a part of his thumbnail tore in his mouth. He was only the second host for the Dax symbiont and he already nearly died breathing plasma fire and vacuum. It was only the help of an Andorian warship that the starship was able to escape the system.

An engineer accidentally bumped into his shoulder. Stumbling, Tobin muttered, "Sorry."

The human looked over her shoulder at the Trill with a hint of annoyance.

"Sorry," Tobin muttered again, ducking his head to hide the reddening of his face. He turned to study the readings on the ship's phase coil inverters. So far, they were looking good.

A shadow fell upon him and his console. Tobin almost cringed in his nervous shyness.

"How are the phase coil inverters?"

It was the Chief Engineer, Skon of Vulcan.

Tobin resisted the temptation to put his fingers in his mouth again. "They're good, so far. As long as the captain doesn't take us to Warp 4.2 or more."

Skon nodded silently. Captain Emily Stiles was a hard skilled woman and has expressed her wish to make her nephew, Commander Paul Stiles on the _Enterprise_, to be just as hard and skilled. Tobin fidgeted, trying to get the courage to speak. "Dax, is there anything else?"

"Umm yeah. I mean…yes, sir. As far as I-I know, every reconnaissance into Romulan space has never been heard from again. Ours is a narrow escape. So how is it that…w-we have some idea of where the Romulan homeworld is?"

Skon gazed at the Trill. On a starship full of humans, the Vulcan felt a kinship, a sympathy with Tobin as lone aliens. The humans might not have a high opinion of the socially inept Trill, but Skon liked him. He leaned forward and lowered his voice.

"What I'm about to tell you is classified and limited only to High Command and Starfleet Command personnel. I know this from my father Ambassador Solkar. In the Earth year 2143, the Vulcan Science Directorate sent a scout ship called the _T'sannu_ to survey the star systems of Tomed, Zeta Reticuli, 33 Trianguli, Alpha Mensae and Cheron."

Tobin widened his eyes, realizing the implications. Almost all of those named systems were now in Romulan space. Skon continued.

"The last we heard from the survey ship was that it was entering the 33 Trianguli System. Since then, we have heard nothing. We have drawn the logical conclusion that the _T'sannu_ stumbled upon the Romulans and was captured or destroyed. Since then, Vulcan attempts of formal contact with the Romulans have failed. In one such attempt, the Vulcan High Command led a mission to Tomed. Commander T'Pol was part of that mission. I do not know what occurred in that mission but T'Pol was then assigned to the post of Deputy Science Officer on the _Seleya_ in 2148."

Tobin Dax stared at Skon with incredulous wide eyes. "So…y-you're saying that this…conflict with the Romulans began with a _Vulcan_ survey ship?"

Skon emotionlessly responded, "I see the irony as well."

Tobin turned back to his console, sighing shakily and forgetting his manners toward Skon. The Vulcan, however, was not human and remained impassive behind the Trill engineer. "This war…it has taken a lot out of me. Out of all of us. I don't know if I will see my child Raifi again back on Trill. He has been hell for me, but I miss him so much. Raifi's hell is a lot better than the hell of this war."

Skon raised an eyebrow. Emotions fascinated him. He had once considered joining the V'tosh ka'tur, 'Vulcans without logic' when Captain Tavin of the _Vahklas_ had a discussion with him years ago. "I, too, wish the sanctity of home on Vulcan."

"Do you have children, Skon?"

Skon gazed at the Trill who had turned to lock wet eyes with him. "I…do not have children yet. When the…time comes for me, I hope to have a son named Sarek."

Tobin Dax smiled warmly at his friend, one of the very few he had on the starship _Heisenberg_. "You already have a name picked out?"

Skon said, "I…thought it logical to be prepared for all possibilities." Seeing Tobin smiling warmly and knowingly at him, he added, "Perhaps…I can convince Captain Stiles to allow us to spend shore leave on Vulcan when the ship stops at Alpha Centauri for repairs and upgrades."

Tobin's smile went wider and brighter. "I'd like that, Skon."

**Heavily modified Imperial Romulan Warbird _Raptor_, en route to Denobula Triaxa**

Centurion Selin Telvor studied the ancient dice that had passed down his family for centuries since the Exile. His grandmother had told him that the symbols on the dice were supposed to help young Vulcan children to learn their language. Telvor turned the dice around in his fingers.

His great uncle had told him the story of the sudden reappearance of Vulcans. A Vulcan survey ship had entered the Romulan System, choosing to conduct discrete observations before making contact. It was not known whether the Vulcans on board the _T'sannu_ realized who they had just found. But the Romulans knew exactly who the extra-Romulan intruders were. Telvor's great uncle had been the commander of the orbital defense watch at the time. He had feared that the Vulcan survey ship was an advance scout for an invasion force. Panicking, he had ordered the _T'sannu_ destroyed.

Telvor remembered that time when he was a child in the city of Rateg on Romulus. The sudden appearance of their long-lost brothers was announced on the government televisors. The people had wondered what the Vulcans were doing there. The government and the military brewed the incident into a public panic over the appearance of degenerate brothers.

Telvor gently set the ancient dice on his desk, smiling wryly. That panic had been successfully molded into a military campaign for the benevolent reunification with their lost brothers. Only the humans, Andorians and Tellarites stood in the way of Vulcan's enlightenment about the success of the Travelers who left Vulcan to the degenerate teachings of Surak. And now this subsidiary human species has added themselves to the obstacles in the way of Reunification.

The door to the centurion's office opened and a sublieutenant strode in. "Centurion, we are approaching the Topaz System."

Telvor looked up. The Tal'Shiar figured that the Earth Starfleet had established a listening post at Topaz. It could not be avoided since the system lay in the way to the Denobulan homesystem. He pondered what appearance the _Raptor_ should take to fool the Starfleet sensors, and later on, the Denobulan sensors. The Romulans needed to set up a preceding cover story if they were to go any deeper into enemy territory without the crawfish-like dark green ship being shot down.

"Decloak. Modify the holographic emitters to make us a Rigellian scoutship."

"Yes, Centurion."

**Raghesh 3, Centauri Agricultural Colony**

A space station hung in orbit above Raghesh 3, looking like two pyramids stuck together at their bases. Spherical orbital defensive mines were scattered in orbit around the planet. It was time for a shift change on the space station.

A watch commander came into the surveillance room to relieve the other watcher. The two men nodded at each other as they exchanged the seat. The new watch commander sat down at his console and, seeing new scanner readings just now showing up on the console, called out to the man he had just relieved.

"Look! An unscheduled jumppoint has formed!"

A blue swirling vortex had indeed opened. Large and small ships painted red and black emerged firing all weapons.

The watch commander recognized the ships and shouted, "Contact Centauri Prime! Tell them we're under attack! Tell them it's the—"

The assault, already pounding into the structure, caused the space station to explode. A new star flared into life in the skies of Raghesh 3 and was noticed by Centauri colonists on Raghesh 5 and the garrison force guarding the blue-skinned natives on one of the moons of the ringed gas giant, Raghesh 8.

More ships poured from the jumppoint, firing at the orbital defense mines. Finally, the ship that had been holding the jumppoint open emerged. It was larger than any of the ships that had come before and it looked like two blue-painted cruisers connected to each other in the middle by a smaller but heavily armored central structure, creating an H shape.


	7. Instabilities

_Worker72: Without Shadow backup, the Centauri would have difficulties against the Narn. However, over the decades, entire fleets had been mothballed by the Centauri Royal Admiralty and Court. Reactivate them and the Narn would have problems..._

_The Romulans on the _Raptor_ are trying to get into the Sol System without being shot down. We'll see if they survive this long..._

_Sati James: Yes good stories take long to write especially when you have two different stories to write and to balance the time for it with real life. I'm thinking of holding on to "Shadows and Dust in the Pattern" for later and focus on "Clash of Federations"._

_Onto the story! Enjoy!_

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**Minbari Grey Council Command Ship _Valen'tha_**

Delenn, in a gray robe, entered the Council Chamber which was now dark with only a single column of light. When she was standing in the pillar of light, she waved a hand towards the darkness and the darkness was replaced by a field of stars. A sun shone, made small-looking by the far distance.

Twelve stars flashed in a mini-nova effect and twelve ships colored in varying shades of red arrived in the system. Four of them looked sturdy, colored a rustic red, thick-armored and each had a blue-glowing ring held inside another ring as part of the main body. Two were also rustic red, but they appeared to be slender needles thrust through a thick ring. One vessel, cocooned in the center of the fleet, was exactly like the ship that they encountered at Epsilon 5. A bright red slender needle thrust through three interlocking rings.

Delenn wondered if it was the same ship, the one called _Shirasna_.

The remaining five vessels were the color of dried blood, dark red. Those didn't have rings, but their sides flared outward at the back to create blue-glowing engine exhausts that curved around the arrow-shaped body. They appeared to be capable of higher speeds than their larger colleagues. A word came into her mind to describe them.

Dartships.

Delenn watched as a jumppoint opened in front of the Vulcan fleet and a Centauri Primus-class battlecruiser appeared.

The circular door that served as the entrance to the Council Chamber opened, rolling like a stone at the entrance of a tomb. Coplann entered.

"Interesting, are they not, Satai Delenn?"

Delenn gave a small bow that acknowledged the age seniority of her fellow Councilor. "Satai Coplann. Yes, they are interesting. They are also unknown. We have been a spacefaring race for over a thousand years, yet we know nothing about this race. We have heard rumors of the humans before meeting them. This time, rumors did not prepare us when the Vulcans confronted us at Epsilon 5. It is as if they came out of nowhere."

Coplann studied the holodisplay of the Vulcan fleet facing the single Centauri battlecruiser. "We have stood and held our places of power while empires came and went over the centuries since the last great war. They are not different. The Garmak Empire and the Wen'Dan Hordes once appeared to us similarly. They challenged us and we met the challenge. Garmak is now a subject world of the Centauri Republic. The Wen'Dan…." Coplann shrugged dismissively. "They never appeared again."

Delenn nodded and continued to study the Vulcan ships. In spite of their very alien nature, they had…a strange elegance, if a bit frightening. "I…doubt they will…be gone like the Wen'Dan and the Garmaks. They appear to be sending embassies to key worlds throughout Known Space. Yet, we still do not know their origin."

Coplann appeared dismissive. "We will learn of their origin. Then we will teach them to return home. Teach them as we taught the Streibs. As far as we know, they have been appearing out of the Earthers' home system. Perhaps it is a condition of their agreement and secrecy. We will learn." He turned back to the image. The Centauri battlecruiser was now opening a jumppoint, turning around to enter it. His voice sounded once more, this time full of curiosity.

"I wonder what they are doing there in Centauri space. Reports tell us that the alien embassies have so far consisted of only one ship with two or more escorts. Why such a wastefully large fleet?"

Delenn watched as the Vulcan fleet began to move forward once more. "The Rangers report that they are attempting a solution for the Narn-Centauri crisis."

Coplann's face darkened. The aliens were interfering too much in local affairs. Soon, that will be corrected. Other things needed to be corrected. The Rangers, for example. "The Rangers…?"

Delenn gestured at the holodisplay. "This is the last recording received from one of their long-range ships."

"The last…?"

As an answer, she pointed at the holodisplay for him to watch. One of the Vulcan dartships separated itself from the fleet and moved towards Delenn and Coplann at an impossibly high speed. Bursts of energy flew from under the chamber floor and splashed against the dartship's force shields. Green beams lashed out from the red dartship straight at the two Councilors and the holodisplay deactivated.

Coplann continued to look at the darkness for a few seconds before turning to Delenn. Even the Rangers' sensor stealth has been defeated by the Vulcans! He took a deep breath. "Perhaps you are right, Satai Delenn. We must remedy the problem of our lack of knowledge concerning these particular aliens."

Hope blossomed in Delenn. "We will open communications with them?"

"We will…lure one of the alien ships, capture it for study." Coplann turned away to exit the Council Chamber as Delenn stared back, open-mouthed. Was there really no way to prevent this war from spiraling out of control and swallow more people?

**UES _Columbia_, enroute to Procyon V**

_Captain's Starlog, February 2157: Admiral Gardner at Starfleet Command has ordered us to transport two Earth Alliance fighters, called starfuries, to Vulcan Space Central for study and upgrading by Major Talok. Lieutenant Jeffrey Sinclair has volunteered to come along as the EarthForce liaison. We will be stopping at the Vulcan colony on Procyon V to offload survivors of the Romulan attack on Qualor II._

Jeff Sinclair stepped through an opening door and he saw that Captain Erika Hernandez and Commander Charles Trip Tucker III were already sitting at the table in the Captain's Mess.

"Uh…sorry. I'm still not used to this ship."

Erika smiled welcomingly. "I understand. Come on in. The food's still hot."

Sinclair was relieved. He had noticed that the human military in this universe weren't as much a stickler for protocols and discipline as EarthForce. He had been surprised when Erika told him that Starfleet was not officially the military force for United Earth. She said that it was actually a civilian organization like NASA, albeit armed. Perhaps that was why every Starfleet vessel now had a whole squadron of MACOs for this war.

Trip smiled as Sinclair sat at the table. The _Columbia_'s chief engineer took a sip of orange juice. "Settled in good?"

Sinclair had to restrain his own eagerness as he spooned food onto his plate. "You kidding? We never get real food out in space. We get synthetics or freeze-drieds at most. Real food is very expensive except on planets where you can raise the food easily. It's amazing you have this much real food on your ships!"

Trip chuckled. He forked a piece of meat and held it up for himself and Sinclair to look at. "We've come a long way, believe me. If it weren't for the Vulcans, we'd still be stuck on Earth, hauled into those nasty courts of the Post-Atomic Horror. Or worse." Trip was thinking about how the non-existence of Starfleet would have allowed the Xindi to send their planetkiller against Earth. He shuddered at the thought.

Sinclair nodded as he relished the taste of real orange juice. The stuff of the super-rich, of governors and politically well-connected people on Mars and other colonies that were not terracompatible or "class-M" as these people called it. He sighed as he thought of those colonies. If the new alliance with Starfleet didn't work, the Earth colonies, ships and stations wouldn't know the pleasure of real food, even if produced by those amazing protein resequencers. "All we have to do is keep the Minbari from destroying us. And the Romulans from destroying you, of course."

"Speaking of that," Erika said, picking up a datapad from the table and handing it to Sinclair. "We have been studying our Vulcan database very thoroughly. We have found something that might help both of us in our wars."

Sinclair looked at the datapad. "The planet Minos."

Captain Erika Hernandez glanced at Tucker nervously. The information about Minos in the Vulcan database didn't comfort her but they needed all the help they could get. "The Minosians call themselves the…'Arsenal of Freedom'"

Sinclair's lips twisted in distaste. "Gunrunners."

The captain took a breath. "Yes…. They do sell weapons. _Advanced_ weapons. After we're finished with Vulcan Space Central, we can go there. It's far, but the advanced weapons we buy can be retro-engineered for both Starfleet and EarthForce."

Sinclair silently ate his food as he thought. EarthForce was doing all it could do to slow the Minbari advance. Starfleet was doing the same against the Romulans. Neither Earths could afford to start pulling many ships away from the fronts to help each other, but they must do it if both were to survive, even to win the wars.

If the weapons they could buy from this…"Arsenal of Freedom" make the mutual help easier, then both Earths would indeed be able to buy their freedom from war. His sense of ethics rebelled against that.

Sinclair swallowed his food and said, "I doubt we would need the Minosians."

Trip and Erika looked at each other. The chief engineer then peered closely at Sinclair. "How so?"

"I have to believe we can win both wars. I have to. If I didn't, I wouldn't be able to climb into the cockpit of my starfury."

Erika leaned forward, having stopped eating. "Beliefs won't keep the Romulans or Minbari from killing our people."

"Humanity will survive. At least my humanity."

Trip arched an eyebrow good-humoredly at that. "Have you been talking with Admiral Gardner? Not that I don't believe we will survive…."

Sinclair put down his fork and knife, and stared at his plate of food. "I…cannot…accept that everything humanity has accomplished, that everything we've aspired to, will simply come to an end. To be destroyed by a superior race just because they can. There has to be more to them, and more to us, than that." He turned to look out the window at the warp-illusion of stars sweeping by the Earth starship. "I've studied other races in my universe. The Vree, Abbai, Brakiri, Centauri, Narn, many others. Charted their progress. For almost every single one, their development has been far, far slower than ours. It's as if we're rushing, or even being rushed. As if we're intended for some great purpose that's coming sooner than we think."

Trip nodded. "He has a point there, Captain. I mean, look at the Vulcans and the Andorians. Both have been warp capable for much longer than us. The Tellarites have been in space for longer than we have before they found warp technology. We are catching up to them pretty fast. Hell, we scared the old Vulcan High Command into trying to hold us back, remember?"

"To say nothing of the attention we've been getting," said Erika. "The Klingons, the Sphere-Builders and the Xindi, and now the Romulans."

"Don't forget the factions involved in the Temporal Cold War."

It was Sinclair's turn to peer at Trip closely. Temporal Cold War? That didn't sound very appetizing. "Right…. Both humanities, it seems, have a destiny. I feel it. In my soul right here."

A faraway look came into Trip's eyes. "Now we don't know much about the future, but my old captain told me we're supposed to found a federation of planets in the near future and—"

A whistle sounded. _"Captain Hernandez."_

The starship captain pushed back her chair and leaned over to touch the companel on a wall. "Yes?"

"_We're entering the Procyon System. We are being scanned by Vulcan sentries."_

Erika winced. It meant transporting the nuclear attack survivors down to the medical facilities of the Vulcan colony. "Acknowledged." She stood up and gave Jeff Sinclair a reassuring smile. "Duty calls, lieutenant. Enjoy your lunch."

**Andorian Imperial Warship _Tamar_**

Captain Shran woke to a shrill noise, gasping.

Shran sighed, relieved. It was only the intercom signaling for his attention. He reached out from his bed to tap at the intercom.

"_Captain Shran?"_

The Andorian captain recognized the voice. "Commander Tholos."

"_Sensors are picking up a vessel at long-range. We're not sure, but the records we got from the pinkskins say it's Minbari."_

Shran quickly got up from his bed, his antennae stood rigid and quivering in excitement. It was time!

xxxxxxxxx

Shran strode into the bridge of the new Andorian warship. Glancing around at the bridge, he was satisfied to see the crew working efficiently. Commander Tholos was standing in the center with hands clasped at the back, studying the main viewer. One of his antennae swung towards Shran, letting him know that the commander acknowledged his presence.

The main viewer was showing an oblong cerulean blue vessel slowing skirting along the edge of a multi-colored nebula, fish-like fins flaring from its rear. Tholos stepped back to beside the command chair as Shran sat in it. "Huh. We don't exist in this universe, but these aliens managed to use our skin color for their ship hulls. Lieutenant Tarah, what armaments do they have?"

The Andorian woman spoke from where she stood at her station. "Minimal weapons. One neutron cannon. It's not a warship. I believe it is a transport. Or a science vessel."

Shran's antennae curved forward at the main viewer with interest. Tholos leaned to speak to the captain from the side. "It's ideal for our mission."

The captain nodded, although distaste simmered in the back of his mind. "The Imperial Command will appreciate our capture and interrogation of these Minbari…properly." Making his decision, he gestured at Commander Tholos who then stepped forward to give the orders.

"Lieutenant Tarah, arm particle cannons. Lieutenant Thon, increase speed to maximum warp then drop to one quarter impulse when we arrive at the Minbari vessel. Ready tractor beam. Commander Keval, prepare your boarding teams at the transporters."

Keval curtly saluted before he left the bridge.

Shran sat back as the Andorian warship warped to the Minbari transport. If the mission was this easy, they might be able to harvest some unknown technology for use against the Romulans. It would be nice if they figured out how the Minbari were able to make accurate pinpoint jumps. Such a technology would enable the Imperial Guard to jump safely into the Gamma Virginis System, surprise and destroy the damnable Romulans and recover Pvarto Colony. All without worrying about jumping out straight into the heart of a sun or planet.

Thon, at the helm, soon called out, "Coming up at the transport. Dropping to one quarter impulse."

"Locking particle cannons," reported Tarah as the _Tamar_ came about for the optimal position and began to emit the tractor beam at the Minbari transport. "The Minbari are trying to transmit a distress signal over tachyon."

"Captain!" yelled Thon. "Subspace distortion forming astern!"

Blue-white light appeared to pierce through the fabric of space, quickly transforming into the blue vortex of an exit jumppoint. What emerged looked like a giant aqua-blue ribbed angelfish, frowning at the impertinent little Andorian warship. Emerald beams lashed out from the Minbari warcruiser. Once, twice, thrice, four times.

Tholos joined Tarah in tumbling around the bridge of the _Tamar_ as the Minbari neutron beams struck at the Andorian shields, the massive power behind them allowing the kinetic shock to roughly plow through to the engines and hull. The tractor beam winked out, leaving the Minbari transport free. The light in the ship flickered as sparks blew from energy conduits.

Shran struggled hard to keep himself in his seat. "Report!"

Thon screamed out, "Primary systems hit! Primary reactors are down! Shields are buckling!"

Captain Shran twisted to squint through the smoke. Lieutenant Tarah appeared out of it, picking herself up to attend to her station. "Tarah! Launch the drones!"

The Andorian woman frantically fingered her console, then finally hitting it with her fists in frustration. "The drone rack is damaged!"

The warship rocked once more as the Minbari warcruiser came about for another strafing shot. The Andorians were just one already damaged ship against an admittedly powerful Minbari warcruiser. It was time for the better part of valor, as the pinkskins would say.

"Full power to impulse engines!" Shran pointed at the nebula. "Take us in there!"

The Andorian warship turned about and fled into the opalescent nebula, her shields glowing as the nebular particles hit them. The Sharlin-class warcruiser managed one more shot before they were forced to stop before entering it. Its crew knew that their scanners would be blinded by the nebula.

Once the smoke cleared, Shran was relieved to see that Commander Tholos was still alive. The second helmsman, however, was dead, painting his console with his blue blood.

Thon made sure that the _Tamar_ was stationary deep inside the nebula, then summoned the ship's physician.

Shran stood up, glaring at the main viewer, imagining particle beams and weapon drones ripping the huge alien warcruiser to pieces. His antennae were nearly flat against his white hair in rage. His voice's calm was forced. "Order the repair teams to focus on the drone rack and the warp engines."

Tholos saluted and ran out of the bridge.

Shran glanced down at the slumped form of the second helmsman. He reached down to the side of his command chair, opened a tiny cabinet built inside and took out a tiny glass vial. With it, he went over the helm console and scooped up some of the spilt blue blood. "Tha'acal. The first Andorian to die in this universe. The first to be killed by the Minbari. Your blood shall be poured on the Wall of Heroes on Andoria. The Andorian Imperial Guard will avenge you!"

**Vulcan**

Tobin Dax gazed with wonder across the Fire Plains at the huge red carnelian statues of ancient Vulcan priests.

"Wow…this is nothing like the Tenaran Ice Cliffs on Trill!"

Skon impassively studied how the light shone and glittered in the carnelian stone of the statues. "I have not traveled to Trill. It is the planet that the humans call Trillius Prime, is it not?"

Tobin nodded. For once, he felt comfortable. Vulcans suppress their emotions and they wouldn't take offense at bad habits the way humans do as long as he respected the Vulcan ways. Or look at his inept social skills with contempt. "I remember one Vulcan visiting my homeworld. T'Pau. I remember T'Pau visiting the Trill parliament and convincing me that isolationism is detrimental to Trill development."

Skon arched an eyebrow. "I was not aware that you were a Legislator. I assume that was before T'Pau became active in the Syrrannite Movement. Many years ago. Were you not rather young to be a council member?"

"I…uhh…I…." Tobin widened his eyes and kicked himself. That memory was from the Dax symbiont. The legislator that T'Pau convinced was Dax's previous and first host Lela. He had inadvertently spilled a secret of the Trill people to an alien! Skon may be a good friend, but he's still an alien, a non-Trill. Oh what the Symbiosis Commission would do to punish him? He mentally kicked himself again. "I…I meant I was in the viewing gallery of the parliament when T'Pau spoke there."

Skon arched an eyebrow again. Tobin Dax mentally kicked himself again, this time for lying to such a good friend.

"Dax, perhaps we can go to the city of Raal. There is a conference for expatriates there."

Tobin Dax relaxed, relieved that Skon didn't pursue his apparent lie.

xxxxxxxx

Tobin Dax breathed deeply in the cool salty breezes from the Voroth Sea beside which Vulcan's Raal Province was, appreciating the coolness he had been looking for on Vulcan. The breath caused the memory of Trill's purple seas to flicker to life in his mind.

The breeze also allowed him to forget the almost cramped feeling of the crowd in the open-air columned forum of Raal City.

"Tobin Dax?"

Tobin jumped and turned around. He began to open and close his mouth at the person in front of him. The humanoid was clearly a woman, judging by the elaborate jet-black hairstyle, the feminine curves on the face, chest and body. Her skin was almost grey, and she had thick neck ridges running from her shoulder up into her hair. More ridges framed her forehead and made her eyes appear deep-set, and an inverted teardrop-shaped ridge was set in the middle of the forehead.

"Oh! Sorry. Ummm…yes?" Tobin couldn't help staring at the reptilian-seeming alien woman.

The alien woman smiled. The smile didn't make her look less intimidating to the Trill. "I understand you are an engineer on the _Heisenberg_. Skon over there told me of its escape from the Romulans. Impressive."

Tobin ducked his head, facing the daunting task of socialization by withdrawing into himself and letting instincts take over. He began to nervously bite his fingernails. "Yes, ma'am…. Sorry…it was in the Gamma Virginis System."

The alien woman chuckled, seemingly unaware of Tobin's nervous habit. Perhaps she dismissed it as a quirk of his alien race. "It's delightfully hot on Vulcan, isn't it? Too bad the sun's so dreadfully bright and there's no humidity in the air. Except for the temperature, it's nothing like Cardassia Prime."

Tobin dropped his mouth open. A Cardassian! He'd heard of Cardassians. They had begun to explore beyond their system only a few years before. He never thought he would meet one this far on Vulcan.

He swallowed, moistening his mouth. He felt the mangled splinters of his nails with his tongue, causing him to force his hand down to his side. He tore his eyes away from her grayish face, embarrassed, and stared down at the ground. "Uhhh…Sorry. I don't think we have been introduced…."

The Cardassian woman laughed and held out her hand for Tobin to shake. "My apologies! They call me Iloja of Prim."

She said her name as if he should have recognized it. "I'm…To— Sorry, you know me already, clearly." His eyes looked over Iloja's shoulder, searching the crowd for Skon. He felt the need to stick close to his friend.

Iloja gently laid a hand on Tobin's arm and began to lead him out of the forum toward the quays on the shores of Voroth Sea. "It's such a thrill to have someone not know who I am."

"A…thrill?"

"I delight in seeing people's reaction when they first read my poems. I'm a serialist poet, you see."

"That's…nice. That's why you're here?"

Iloja's face darkened. Tobin cursed himself. He must have offended her somehow. The way her eyes glinted in anger, this Cardassian must have a temper. If she was a diplomat, an envoy or ambassador of Cardassia…oh won't the Symbiosis Commission look kindly on his off-world behavior! Tobin prepared to run should she start screaming at him. "Sorry."

The Cardassian immediately went back to smiling. "Oh, it's not you. It's me."

Tobin just had to arch an eyebrow at her. As far as he could remember, no one had ever used that phrase on him. Not even on Lela Dax. Well, perhaps it was because Lela was a woman. The one woman who could have said that to him instead got married and gave him the little hellspawn named Raifi.

Raifi. Tobin smiled distractedly. He may be hell, but he's a hell he was proud of. Definitely not like Lela's son Ahjess. Raifi wouldn't climb into his parents' bed just to get attention. Like that time when—

"Ahem!"

Tobin started and found himself looking at the quizzical face of Iloja. "Sorry."

"Is that a behaviorism of your race?" She looked pointedly at his nail-biting.

"Sorry…. I guess I'm a little nervous…."

Iloja waved off the apology. "Please pardon my… reaction. I'm an exile."

Tobin forgot about his shyness as he studied Iloja closely. "Exile?"

"I…was something of a dissident. The Cardassian Republic decided it would be better for the welfare of the state to exile me to Vulcan."

Tobin smiled in mischievous delight by tucking in his lips and widening his eyes a bit. A habit picked up from the previous host Lela Dax. After all, by leaving Trill so far behind and participating in an alien war, putting the Dax symbiont in perpetual danger, he had become a dissident in the Trill government's eye. "What did you do?"

Iloja narrowed her eyes in instinctive suspicion, then smiled in ready affection. "Well…I think you're harmless enough." She then looked behind them at the crowd milling in the forum of Raal. "If there's any Obsidian Order agent back there, he should be out of hearing range."

Obsidian Order? That didn't sound appetizing. Tobin got nervous again. Surely, he hasn't entangled himself with a dangerous criminal…?

Iloja sighed and gazed out at the sea. "I didn't like the direction that the government was taking. We are a troubled people. And we were once a very spiritual people. When the famines began to trouble my homeworld…our spirituality began to be perverted into a reverence for the state. The government decided that the only way to solve the problems on Cardassia Prime is to explore beyond our homesystem. Look for rich worlds to conquer. As if colonization is not easier! As if what colonies we have couldn't supply us with the food we need!"

Tobin suddenly imagined alien warships filling the skies of Trill. It may be far from Cardassia, but one day this…expansion might reach it! A loud click sounded as he bit into a thumbnail. Iloja ignored the noise and kicked at the sand in anger. "They even began to open and plunder the Hebitian burial vaults to fund those voyages of 'discovery.' The Hebitians!" She said that name as if the tomb raiding was the ultimate in sacrilege.

"Sorry? Hebitians? I thought we're talking about your people, the Cardassians?"

Iloja waved the question away dismissively. "Doesn't matter. At least to non-Cardassians."

The Cardassian woman bent down and picked up some rocks and shells. She began throwing each object into the gently lapping salty sea for each point she made. "Grave-robbers! Tomb-raiders! That's what the glorious state of Cardassia has come down to!"

By now she was throwing the shells and rocks so hard into the water that Tobin found it difficult not to be grateful that she wasn't aiming for his head.

"Tret Akleen must be turning in his grave! He was the father of our nation, you know. If he came back, the state wouldn't like his way of thinking and drag him before the Supreme Archon!" Iloja finally ran out of things to throw viciously into the sea. She took a few breaths. "Anyway, I wrote serialist poems pointing all this out. They weren't traitorous. Oh, the poems protested the state's policies, but they were subtle!"

Her eyes blazed now with rage, causing Tobin to step back as if she suddenly turned into one of those man-eating sehlats that Skon talked about. "Then that…that…_man!_ Nanpart Malor. He reported me to the Cardassian Institute of Arts. Me! Telling on a dear friend! Oh! I hope his…his _stupid_ precious Valonnan School turns to dust! Then the Obsidian Order investigated me. The next thing I knew was the Supreme Archon sentencing me to exile on the farthest world we knew! Here, Vulcan!" She was now panting, taking deep breaths to calm herself.

Tobin stared at her, mouth open.

Iloja was now a calm, serene woman. "I must apologize. I do hope you will forgive me." She gave a wry chuckle. "We have an old saying: 'Confession is good for the soul.' I…guess this applies."

Tobin Dax beamed at her. He found a new kinship with this Cardassian woman, even if she had an impressive temper. She was an alien on an alien world. All alone, just like himself. A dissident, a rebel, a non-conformist just like himself! And just like Skon, too, if you consider his being involved in the Romulan War against the official policy of the Vulcan government as a form of rebellion. He drew on all the strength of Legislator Lela that his symbiont could offer to overcome his painful shyness. "Iloja of Prim. I have decided I like you. I would like to read your poems."

Iloja's eyes shone as she smiled brightly and gratefully.

Tobin held out a hand for her. When Iloja accepted it, he courteously led her back into the forum of Raal City. He was really thankful to Skon for bringing him along to Vulcan. Come to think of it, it would be fun to introduce Iloja to Skon!

Leaving Trill may have been a good thing after all.

**AIW _Tamar_**

Captain Shran watched the glowing opalescent fog swirl in the main viewer. They were still inside the nebula.

"Status of the Minbari cruiser?"

Lieutenant Tarah needed only a glance at her console for confirmation. She had been studying it for hours now. "The Minbari are still trying to locate us through tachyon scans. With this nebula, we'd be only a shadow, a sensor ghost at most, to them."

Commander Tholos' antennae wrung in puzzlement. "They're stubborn. Why haven't they called in reinforcements?"

"I agree," said Shran. "That's what we would do. These Minbari are arrogant, overconfident. They feel they can handle a warship of the Imperial Guard! How are the repairs?"

Keval checked the telltales on his console. "Nearly done." He gave Shran a wry grin. "Arrogant and overconfident. Not like us?"

The Andorian captain made a short chuckle. "We handled the Vulcans, didn't we? A Vulcan ship helped Captain Archer drive off two warcruisers at Epsilon 5." He waved dismissively at the fog in the main viewer. "We can handle the Minbari."

The bridge crew went back to focusing on their tasks. Shran sat back in his command chair, remembering the Battle of Regulus. It was a grueling battle, using only six Andorian warships against a Vulcan fleet of 12 ships, but it saved Andoria from a Vulcan invasion. That battle, and the incident with the Romulan telepresence drone ship, had pushed the Imperial Guard into researching the drone rack technology for its warships. Both events also caused the Imperial Guard to make Shran captain in spite of the humiliating loss of his old command, the _Kumari_.

The multicolored nebular fog outside the ship appeared to flash with lightning and the _Tamar_ shook.

"Lieutenant Thon, I thought you said this nebula is not active!"

"No, sir. It's the Minbari. They're launching spatial charges into the nebula."

Another charge exploded dangerously close to the _Tamar_.

"Status of shields and drone rack."

"Shields at 84 percent," reported Tarah. "Drone rack back online."

Another explosion rattled his warship.

"Pour as much power as possible into the engines and shields—"

A spatial charge blew, this time hitting the ship directly.

"Direct hit…. Deck nine," reported Tarah.

Shran steeled himself. "Tholos, take us out of here."

Commander Tholos stood with legs apart and hands at his back. "Take us out."

The Andorian warship moved through the fog, among the clumps of matter and meteors, moving the multicolored strands aside. Soon enough, the _Tamar_ emerged out of the nebula. The Minbari warcruiser had been waiting for this.

Emerald beams erupted from the front of the aqua-blue warcruiser, but the Andorians were ready for that. As the _Tamar_'s shields glowed under the emerald assault, Shran gave the order.

"Launch the combat drones."

In the underbelly of the Andorian warship, a large panel slid open. Clusters of balls half the size of shuttlepods poured out of the now open bay and swarmed toward the Sharlin.

In quick response, Nial fighters poured out of the front of the warcruiser. The first Nial flew into the swarm of drones. It opened fired on the Andorian combat drones, one of which went under the fighter and shot a particle beam at its side. The Nial spun away, out of control, trailing sparks.

Shran watched the other Nials charging into the swarm of drones.

"Program the combat drones to lock on the Minbari one-man craft. Let's focus on that warcruiser."

"Yes, sir," complied Tholos.

Space between the two ships soon filled with neutron and particle beams lashing between the fighters and drones. Shran watched the spectacle while thicker beams were exchanged between the capital ships.

Where the particle beams touched Minbari polycrystalline armor, shards of crystal burst out into space. Some were sharp, glittering broken shards, others were melted globules that quickly froze and solidified in space. Meanwhile, neutron beams sought a breach through the skin-hugging Andorian shields. The kinetic shock of that search rattled and injured crewmen, and damaged devices within the warship.

"Tarah, target their main drive. Take it out."

The Andorian woman worked her console anxiously as the _Tamar_ weaved its way around the swarm of drones and fighters, shocking the Minbari with its speed and maneuverability. Here was a capital ship that moved like a fighter.

Tarah played her instruments like a musical expert. Particle cannons fired. Blue beams drilled into the main drive fin at the rear of the Sharlin warcruiser and came out the other side in a cloud of broken crystal shards.

Just before this could be completed, the Minbari let fly a missile tipped with a 20-megaton warhead. The missile shot through the dwindling swarm of fighters and drones and impacted on the Andorian warship.

Everything became a brilliant white, overwhelming sensors, scanners and eyes.

**Denobula Triaxa**

Centurion Telvor studied the various types of vessels entering and leaving the Denobulan System and orbiting the Denobulan homeworld itself. Right now, most of the single continent of Denobula Triaxa was in the night side. It was dense with artificial light.

Cities crowding the continent.

"Status of the holoemitters?"

"Optimal. We're still a Rigelian scoutship."

Telvor nodded. They had remained a Rigelian scoutship all the way from the Topaz System. They weren't going make the mistake that Admiral Valdore and the scientist Nijil made a few years ago, changing holo-appearances with each encounter. Even so, the _Raptor_ wasn't safely in. The warbird still had to bypass the main routes before entering the Sol System.

He continued to look at the light of Denobulan cities shining through the clouds of the planet. The Romulan centurion shook his head softly. So much light, much more than on Romulus. "How many people down there?"

"Approximately twelve billion, Centurion."

The centurion winced. Too many for one planet. It was perhaps a good thing that the Denobulans, being peaceful, were not a source of infantry or ship crews for their allies, the humans. Still…it would be in the best interest of the Star Empire and its goal of Reunification to make sure the Denobulans never decide to be such a source.

The crewman, who had scanned for the population of Denobula, added, "Centurion, this planet is geologically unstable."

Telvor arched an eyebrow. "Really."

Most habitable planets were in some degree or other geologically active. Otherwise, magnetic fields wouldn't be naturally created to keep the planet habitable in spite of space radiation. To have that activity be noticed meant this particular homeworld was more active than usual.

"Make full use of the passive scans. Encrypt the telemetry and send it to Romulus on subspace. Admiral Valdore will know what to do with the information." Telvor watched the main viewer as a Tellarite freighter warped away in the direction of Tellar five lightyears away. "Plot a course to the Vulcan System."

"Yes, Centurion."


	8. Saints and Warriors

"It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it."—Douglas MacArthur, General in the United States Army, Earth, 1880-1964 CE.

**AIW _Tamar_**

The Minbari missile tipped with a 20 megaton warhead caused everything to go a brilliant white, overwhelming sensors, scanners and eyes.

Everything went too fast for Captain Thy'lek Shran to know what was happening. If anyone was screaming, his ears didn't register the sound. He was momentarily and dimly aware of that everything was flying and tumbling. He couldn't shut his eyes, yet he wasn't seeing anything. He didn't know where up or down was. He didn't know when everything stopped, but the next thing he knew was being aware of himself lying on the deck and the lights were replaced by the dim purple emergency lights. More light was shakily provided by the static on the main viewer.

Shran quickly put a hand up to his head. It wouldn't do to have his antennae damaged, especially when one was younger than the other. Satisfied at their condition, he tried to push himself off the deck only to have his right arm be unable to exert force. There was no pain but Shran knew that it was injured and only the shock had dulled the pain that he knew would soon come. He had to make do with using his left arm to push off and stand up.

Nursing his arm, Shran looked around to see his bridge crew still intact, if bruised and injured.

"Thon, bring the viewer back online. Status report."

Shran waited as Commander Tholos gathered the damage reports from all over the ship. He winced, seeing how much was scrolling across the consoles. "Tholos, just give me the worst and try to fix everything else."

The commander nodded in concurrence. "Shields are offline and the port wing is destroyed. Warp offline. We're on minimal impulse power."

"And the Minbari?"

It was Thon who answered. "I'm reactivating the viewer. Putting it onscreen."

The main viewer's snowy static cleared to show the image of the Minbari warcruiser drifting in space, listing to one side. Light in a few windows flickered, and a large blackened gash showed in its main rear fin. The warcruiser appeared to be in a better condition than the Andorian ship. Even so, it was just as crippled as the _Tamar_.

Shran frowned. If he didn't do something, this battle would be considered a draw, even classified a battle of MAD, Mutually Assured Destruction.

"We must have something to show for this. Weapons?"

"Offline," replied Lieutenant Tarah.

Commander Tholos could see what Shran was getting at. "Captain, the transporters are easily repairable."

Shran's antennae rose in gleeful anticipation. "The transporters! There may still be many Minbari left alive on that ship but we can make a raid. Harvest some technology and plant bombs onboard. If possible…even seize that ship for the Imperial Guard to study!"

Keval, who had been listening, said, "I'm on it, sir! The transporters will be online in no time at all and I'll lead the boarding!"

Shran nodded and turned away back to the main viewer, dismissing Keval. He whispered audibly, "This battle will be decided by boarding."

xxxxxxxxx

A robed Minbari worker was helping a warrior limp down a corridor. A soft whine sounded in the corridor, puzzling both Minbari. Pillars of purple mist appeared in the corridor. The Minbari widened their eyes at the phenomenon, then took a sharp breath when the purple mist solidified into six Andorians. Blue particle beams violently knocked the two Minbari back onto their backs, the charred wounds in the front of their torsos smoking.

Keval grunted his satisfaction and clutched a communicator tighter to signal the _Tamar_ to continue the transport.

In groups of six, more transported into the corridor until there were 18 Andorians on the Minbari warcruiser. Keval led them down the corridor to what would be the center of the ship. Soon, they came upon a closed door at the end of a corridor.

Keval nodded at an Andorian woman. She quickly pressed several grenades onto the door in a circular arrangement. Once she was ready, the Andorians withdrew a few steps back. She then pressed a button on a remote. The grenades blew, creating a large circular hole in the door.

The Andorians immediately advanced, firing their particle rifles and handguns through the smoking circle. In response, plasma pulses belched from within the chamber. Once the Andorians were inside the chamber, Keval could see that it was a strategic center of the ship with holographic displays of the surrounding shown on the dark walls. He could see the nebula, stars and the _Tamar_ with its port wing sheared off. He could also see some black-clad and black-armored Minbari grouping around four of their comrades to face the boarders. These four must be the command staff of the warcruiser.

One of the Minbari commanders pointed straight at Keval and shouted, "Aaah haeell!"

More plasma pulses immediately burst from the enemy ranks, banishing any doubt as to what the commander meant. Several Andorians fell, more wounded than dead, splattering the deck with blue blood.

Minbari warriors charged the Andorians, wielding pikestaffs and daggers long enough to be machetes, some falling to particle beams. When the range was too close for particle weapons to be used, the Andorians seized their Ushaan-tor and presented the sharp striated blades based on an ancient ice-miner's tool.

The two species clashed, turning the fight into a wild melee. Screams of rage and pain punctuated the noise of blades and pikes striking each other and on flesh. An Andorian young man had an antenna slashed off, causing him to dizzily lose balance. He grunted and dropped like a stone when a Minbari stuck a Sha'ann PPG into his side and fired. In spontaneous vengeance, the Minbari was brutally cut down by another Andorian's Ushaan-tor to the throat, splattering blue skin and black-brown leather with red blood. A pike crushed a throat, choking an Andorian long enough for her to be killed. A hand-weapon or two fired, briefly lighting up the chamber.

Keval spotted one of the Minbari commanders standing back while the other three commanders joined in the melee. He drew his particle handgun and fired. The commander, likely the ship's captain, grunted as the beam bit into an armored shoulder. Outraged by this affront, he finally charged into the confused dance of death surrounded by the hologram of stars.

The earlier surprise had given the Andorians an advantage in cutting down the number of warriors in the strategic center and that was enough to affect events. Soon, the combat turned in their favor. The Minbari Alyt, bleeding from the particle wound in the shoulder and a blade cut in a thigh, decided that too much honor has been lost. No alien race had ever taken a warcruiser, not since the time of Valen during the civil strife with other castes and clans, and during the last war with the Shadows. And her ship won't be the first either. She viciously thrust his pike into an Andorian eye and kicked at another Andorian, giving herself space and then took out a communication device, opening a link to the ship itself. She spoke a single word into it.

"Honor."

xxxxxxxxx

Shran anxiously awaited the results of the raid into the Minbari warcruiser. Anytime now, Keval, or at least someone else if he didn't survive, would contact him with news.

The sound of a sharp intake of breath came from Lieutenant Thon. "Something's happening! The Minbari fusion reactors are going critical!"

Shran immediately knew what was happening. "Transporters! Take them now!"

They watched helplessly as the Minbari warcruiser became a fireball and waves of debris buffeted the already damaged Andorian warship.

**Vulcan Space Central**

Jeffrey David Sinclair watched as Starfleet and Vulcan crews scanned and poked the two starfuries that he brought along on the UES _Columbia_. They were in one of the cavernous shuttlebays in the massive ancient space station orbiting Vulcan. One of the Starfleeters paused in his duty and turned to Sinclair.

"Don't worry," said Trip. "They will be fine. Better than fine when we refit 'em with our technology. Polarizing hull platings, miniature inertial dampeners, refinements of the fusion batteries, the works!"

"And phase cannons?"

"Yep! If we can't install the technology, we'll just improve the plasma cannons as much as we can."

Sinclair gazed at the starfuries, imagining them taking on Minbari fighters better than before. "Thanks to you, we might be able to perform a bit better than Centauri fighters."

"Or more! If at least one ship is equipped with subspace sensors, you can tie your targeting systems to what that ship can see. No more shooting blind for ya!"

"I guess…." Sinclair _was_ grateful, but something was telling him that there was something wrong here. His thick eyebrows knitted as his gaze shifted to the Vulcan liaison officer, Major Talok.

Trip looked at Sinclair with concern. "Hey, somethin' bothering you?"

Sinclair continued to look at Talok as the Vulcan directed the effort. "Oh, nothing. It's just that…Major Talok seems _too_ interested, too curious about me. Not just me, really. About EarthForce and its technology."

Trip chuckled. "That's the Vulcans for ya. Brainy, want to know everything, want to stay on top of things, especially science."

Sinclair nodded. He had figured that upon meeting the Vulcans. Still…something about Talok seemed off.

A young Vulcan woman came up to Sinclair from outside the shuttlebay. She handed a compad towards him. "Lieutenant Sinclair, there is a message for you."

Sinclair was slightly taken aback. The Vulcan woman spoke as if she was giving orders to him. He had noticed that Vulcans didn't waste time on small talk or preambles. A bit jarring. He accepted the compad and said, "Thank you."

Trip waited before Sinclair could satisfy his curiosity about the message. "It's from someone called the 'High Priest of Mount Seleya'? He wants me to go down there."

Trip raised his eyebrows and whistled. "That's important. The High Priest is the closest thing the Vulcans have to a Pope."

Sinclair shifted on his feet uncomfortably. "I don't know why he would want to see me…. Not that I'm honored, of course. I was taught by Jesuits, you know. And I don't know the way to…Mount Seleya?"

"I'll come with ya. I've been on Vulcan twice before. Once when T'Pol showed me around and again when the local government had its…problems."

Sinclair nodded gratefully. "Thanks again, Trip."

"Not a problem."

As they turned to go, Sinclair cast a final look back at the starfuries and Major Talok.

"Don't worry, Jeff. Talok will take care of everything. He wouldn't be the best if the Vulcan Council didn't choose him to be the liaison with EarthForce. Vulcans may seem smug but they _are_ the best scientists in the galaxy. You're probably just uncomfortable about revealing all of your technical secrets to an alien race."

"Probably…."

**Mount Seleya, Vulcan**

"You said this was an ancient volcano? You're sure it's safe?"

Trip slapped a hand onto Sinclair's shoulder. "Sure! Seleya's still hot but there hasn't been any eruption all the time the temples have been here."

Sinclair still wasn't completely comforted. During the climb to the peak, he had been reminded more and more of Mount Athos in Greece on Earth with its centuries-old monasteries, hermitages and churches. Except the Holy Mountain wasn't a volcano!

He glanced down his side at the deadly drop down to the narrow valley. Sharp mountains rose at the other side of the valley.

When they finally reached the open air temple at an outcropping of the craggy mountain, Sinclair got the chance to study the temple gate that has been visible from the valley floor. Even the temple gate was as intimidating as the mountain. Incredibly tall and thick stone pylons flanked the entrance. They reminded him of the entrances of ancient Egyptian temples, but these were much more impressive in their size. A robed elderly Vulcan man with a thin face and long nose appeared out of a stone gateway to greet them.

"Welcome. I am the High Priest of Seleya. Surak said, 'Reach to unto others and they will come.' You have come."

Sinclair frowned. He didn't think much of people being cryptic to him. "I came because you told me to come."

The priest slowly inclined his head. "I did not summon you. Surak summoned you."

Sinclair glanced at Trip. "He's that Vulcan savior you told me about? I thought this Surak's been dead for centuries?"

Trip was looking at the priest suspiciously. "Yes…." He remembered the stories Archer told him about Surak. He didn't really believe them, but of course he didn't say that to his old captain. "Say…umm…Father? Your Holiness?"

"Though I am a priest, I am not holy."

"Riiight…. Anyway, what's up? What do you want with Lieutenant Sinclair?"

The Vulcan high priest simply turned and walked back into the temple. The message clear, Sinclair and Trip followed him into the temple. Beyond the gate pylons, Sinclair could see a bridge extending over to the top of Seleya's rock outcropping. Steps led up to a dais whose other end supported a huge structure shaped in a V. Two altars stood on the dais.

But this wasn't where the priest was going. Before stepping out from between the almost claustrophobic pylons, the High Priest turned into a shadow.

Sinclair and Trip were startled. By some clever feat of architectural engineering, a doorway was hidden in the stone and shade. If the priest had not turned to enter the doorway, the humans would never have noticed it. They continued to follow the old gaunt man into the darkness.

Inside was a tall room with shelves and niches. In some of the niches were mummified bodies with Vulcan features. Sinclair shivered despite the planet's heat. The gate pylons had seemed Egyptian to him and now mummies….

He preferred to see mummies encased in glass in museums or at least sealed away in tombs.

On the shelves, there were statuettes and thick bowls. Objects for the dead to symbolically enjoy in the afterlife?

The gaunt Vulcan approached a central niche which held a sculpture that appeared to be a tiny Vulcan head set upon a carved stone box. He paused only long enough to bow his head and then reached for the object. As the light and shadow shifted in the room, the sculpture appeared to glitter dully.

Sinclair looked at the object closely. The way it glittered reminded him of the hull of Minbari warcruisers. The High Priest noticed his curiosity and answered the Earther's unvoiced question.

"It is made of a polycrystalline alloy."

Sinclair looked at the priest with surprise. That couldn't be a coincidence!

Trip was as interested as the Earther. "What is it?"

The priest picked up the small object and reverently held it in front of him toward the two visitors. "A Katric Ark. In ancient times, the katras of important Vulcans are transferred into these arks upon death."

Sinclair nervously asked, "Katras…?" He wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"The katra is what humans would call the soul, although they are not quite identical."

Trip and Sinclair stared at the Katric Ark with a mixture of dread and skepticism. Trip knew about katras from discussions with T'Pol and Captain Archer, but he didn't believe it. Sinclair had heard rumors in the League of Non-Aligned Worlds and among the Centauri, rumors of aliens capable of stealing people's souls and imprisoning them in crystal balls. Many worlds whispered the name 'Soul Hunters' with fear and dread. EarthForce, understandably, dismissed these rumors as the product of overactive fearful alien imagination.

Although…. Several EarthForce captains whispered of seeing unknown alien ships poking about in League space, observing battles of the Dilgar War, rarely flitting in to dock with certain important warships such as rumored to have happened at the Battle of Salos.

Sinclair looked up at the High Priest of Mount Seleya and stepped back nervously. Are these Vulcans the source of the stories of Soul Hunters?

The old man emotionlessly said, "Surak says, 'Cast out fear. There is no room for anything else until you cast out fear.' He wishes to meet someone from the other universe." Holding the Ark with one hand, the priest reached out the other hand towards Sinclair's face.

Sinclair looked to Trip for reassurance.

"Vulcans do not kill. They don't lie either." Trip shrugged. "At least since the recent Reformation. I'll be here if anything happens to ya." Trip turned to watch the priest carefully and suspiciously.

The starfury pilot squared his shoulders and stoically nodded at the priest. Long bony fingers touched the right side of his face, gently probing for katric points.

Sinclair was suddenly and briefly blinded by a flash of light.

Once he could regain his vision, he was shocked to see the all too familiar sight of a glowing mushroom cloud rising on the horizon. Disoriented, his first thought was of Romulans attacking Vulcan the same way they did to Qualor II. The thought quickly left his mind as he found that he was standing at a pillared window of a cave carved out of a mountain side. Where was the temple chamber at Seleya? The place had the look of a hermitage or shrine at Mt. Athos on Earth, but the land was completely arid rather than the lush green of the Holy Mountain. He was still on Vulcan, then. Confused, he looked around. Everything had the quality of a dream. Everything also glowed with a clarity not possible in normal life, much more clarity than he ever knew in his life.

An aging Vulcan man stood behind him, dressed in earthy red and brown robes.

The Vulcan gazed out the stone window at the evidence of nuclear warfare, his gray eyes glittering with regret. "The face of war has never changed. Surely it is more logical to heal than to kill."

Sinclair faced the serene-seeming man. "Who are you?"

The man arched an eyebrow with wry amusement. "A question that will concern you and your universe very deeply." He bowed his head with respect. "_Entil-zha veni_. I am Surak."

Sinclair gaped, dismissing the alien words to be some obscure Vulcan greeting. "Surak? The Vulcan messiah?"

Surak's lips almost pulled into a smile. "Hardly. I am merely a philosopher who allowed his people to see the truth that logic is at the heart of every Vulcan." He stepped forward, studying Sinclair with interest. "A most intriguing soul you have. What name do you go by now?"

The Earther was getting more confused. By now? What's he talking about? He snapped to attention as if he was standing before one of his superiors. "Lieutenant Jeffrey David Sinclair, commander of the EarthForce 361st Tactical Fighter Squadron."

"Ah…. The military does indeed appear to be part of your path. I apologize."

"Apologize? For what?" Sinclair was beginning to feel annoyed at the cryptic words he seemed to keep getting. It was also surreal…. Here he was, acting like he just bumped into a regular person on the street.

Surak glanced out the window at the plain outside where his people would be vaporized or lying dead, wounded, or burned. "For my universe's imposition of a war on your universe. I wanted to meet someone from your universe. It is perhaps fortuitous that it was you who came."

"Why?"

"The present is the crossroads of the past and future." Surak turned away from the window. "It is within our power to choose where we go."

Sinclair made a gesture like that of waving at an annoying insect. He was feeling something buzzing like an insect just under the surface of his head. "No. Really. Why did you want to meet me?"

"We have very little data on the Minbari or your universe. It would be fascinating to know the fate of my world's counterpart. My Vulcan might benefit from knowing a species like them. I am interested in the Minbari. Specifically, in…whoever they have that is revered just as my people revere me today." Surak looked at Sinclair pointedly, then turned back to the window once more regretfully. "It is unfortunate that knowledge of the Minbari must come through a war."

Sinclair was feeling out of his elements. Mystical experiences, cryptic comments and other such things are the province of saints….

Or madmen.

He slowly stepped backward. "I uhhh…I have duties."

Surak nodded in understanding. "'Duty is heavier than a mountain, death is lighter than a feather.'"

Sinclair was startled. "That's the credo for the Japanese kamikaze pilots in the Second World War!"

"Indeed. You are not the first human to come in contact with my katra." Surak raised a hand and split his fingers in the traditional Vulcan greeting. "Live long and prosper."

"I'd take _that_ anytime over the other one."

Surak almost smiled. "Go forth. I am most interested in the Minbari. One last thing, Jeffrey Sinclair. Beware those who march under the raptor's wings."

"Uhh…. Thank you. I guess."

The Vulcan's eyes crinkled humorously. "One does not thank logic."

Everything glowed even more golden and Sinclair blinked. He was back in the Vulcan temple and the High Priest of Mount Seleya was withdrawing his hand from his face. He stumbled backward, blinking the disorientation out of himself. He felt Trip's hand steadying him.

"Ya all right?"

Sinclair shook his head to clear the golden cobwebs from his mind. "What was that?"

The priest took his time reverently setting Surak's Katric Ark back in its niche. "You had the honor of meeting Surak of Vulcan."

"I know, I know. But…how did I meet him? He's dead! Or rather, stuck in that little box. What did you do!"

The priest haughtily arched an eyebrow. "I merely served as a conduit between you and Surak's katra through a mindmeld."

The Earther pilot widened his eyes and gasped. "Telepathy?"

"Yes."

Jeff Sinclair stared at the gaunt Vulcan in horror and a hint of anger. The priest was a telepath and he entered him without his permission!

**AIW _Tamar_**

Captain Shran watched as the ship's physician tended to a crewman. He slowly shook his head to himself. So many dead. There were now 69 Andorians left alive on his ship, possibly in this universe. More warriors might die of radiation poisoning. Keval.

Keval had been with him almost during Shran's entire career in the Imperial Guard. He was with him when the Vulcan illegal surveillance post was discovered on P'Jem. He helped Shran rescue Jonathan Archer from the rebels on Coridan. He was with him at the ceasefire negotiations with the Vulcans on the planet Weytahn. He was also with him during the mission in the Delphic Expanse to steal the prototype for the Xindi superweapon in the Calindra System. He survived Romulan attacks with Shran over the years. And now Keval was dead, murdered by the Minbari in a cowardly act!

Worse, the Wall of Heroes on Andoria won't show his heroism.

Commander Tholos appeared at the entrance to the ship's bridge. "Captain, sensors are detecting a ship coming at high warp."

Shran followed Tholos though the doorway into the bridge. The main viewer was directed at where the warpship would appear. A small warpflash appeared and a small 110 meters long red vessel appeared. Shran grinded his teeth.

Vulcans.

Lieutenant Tarah commented, "According to the Imperial Guard database, this class of vessel hasn't been used by the Vulcans for a long time."

"We're being hailed," reported Thon.

"Onscreen."

The main viewer shifted to the image of a Vulcan male captain. _"I am Captain Tavin of the Vulcan ship _Vahklas_. We were on our way to an EarthForce listening post when we detected large detonations at these coordinates. Do you need assistance?"_

Shran bared his teeth and aimed his antennae at the viewer. "You are too late, Captain Tavin."

Tavin raised his eyebrows and looked concerned. _"We are detecting high radiation levels in this area. Scans of debris confirm that there was a large vessel here. Minbari?"_

Shran was slightly taken aback. This Vulcan was showing emotion. If there was one thing that Andorians could rely on from Vulcans, it was suppression of emotions.

"Yes…. Why are you…showing your emotion?"

Tavin smiled kindly. _"I take it you have not heard of us. Traditional Vulcans call us the V'tosh Ka'tur. Vulcans without logic. It is an inaccurate label. We strive to combine emotion with logic. This is beside the point here. If the radiation has penetrated your ship, we have hyronalin. If your warp drive is offline, my engineer can assist in the repairs."_

Shran and Tholos exchanged a look. "What are you doing in this universe? Not that we don't appreciate your help, but what would the Vulcan High Command think?"

"_We are not part of the High Command fleet. We bought this frigate from the High Command long ago and operate as civilians. The presence of other universes fascinates us. We also feel that we cannot explore our emotional potential fully without a taste of war. I cannot say I agree wholeheartedly with that."_ Tavin's eyebrows knitted in a frown as he leaned forward. _"Will more Minbari come?"_

Shran shrugged. "It's possible that another warcruiser will come. If we had our warp drive back online, we will leave." He gestured at his bridge with both arms. "As you can see, some assistance will be valuable."

Tavin nodded and smiled paternally. _"We are only a small frigate. I doubt we can handle a warcruiser. As soon as we detected you, we contacted EarthForce to send its nearest vessel to these coordinates."_

Shran was slightly surprised. These Vulcans were unusual. At least he could understand emotional beings much better than emotionless beings. "Thank you, Captain Tavin."

Tavin nodded and cut the link, returning the main viewer to the image of the tiny Vulcan ship and space.

"Sir!" said Thon. "Subspace distortions!"

The bridge crew tensed. Not another Minbari warcruiser again so soon! On the main viewer, a jumppoint tore open and an Earth Hyperion-class ship slipped out into normal space. There was relief all around the bridge. Things were finally looking up for the Andorian Imperial Warship _Tamar_.


	9. Moon's Shadow

_Worker72: Though no one else in both universes, except maybe the Centauri, know this: there is a counterpart to Andoria and its people._

_Yes, Lt. Sinclair had a lot of faith in humanity. In his mind, belief in humanity's destiny is needed or else he'd give in to despair at the Minbari onslaught._

_Don't worry...the Romulans will encounter B5 vessels. The roundabout way is to avoid the major spacelanes within the Coalition in order to reach the Sol System undetected._

_rankokunalpha1: The Romulans do need to be stopped. But will they be stopped? And how? That's the question in this new timeline._

_Sati James: The Minbari reaction to the loss of yet another warcruiser to an alien race will be shown in the next chapter._

_Agent-G: Why do you think people were so agitated by the cryptic remarks made by Ambassador Kosh and Ulkesh? Hehehe_

_Worker72: Sinclair's thoughts about telepaths will be shown in a later chapter. Q is tempting, but it's too much of a 'deus ex machina'. Plus, I'm assuming that because the Q's are godlike beings, they're more than capable of exploring other universes, so they would likely know about the Babylon 5 universe. Q once implied that one day humans will surpass the Q Continuum...maybe he saw that evolved human in "A Deconstruction of Falling Stars"...?_

* * *

This chapter takes place after the next chapter. This is only a sidestory that I've been wanting to write for some time.

The mustachioed and tuxedoed man cackled as he bounced a basketball, and another man, screaming, desperately held onto a ceiling handle-bar in the flashing dark.

An unconventionally overweight Vulcan man watched it all with wide eyes. He was practically on the edge of his seat. Horror and excited anticipation filled his face.

In the seat next to him, another Vulcan, a trim man, leaned over and whispered, "Interesting twist of logic, Kov. 'What drives a sane man insane would drive an insane man sane.' It is perhaps fortunate that Vulcan did not have the..._twisted_ geniuses that Earth suffered."

Kov's eyes remained on the viewscreen on which the Earth film 'House on Haunted Hill' played. "That's true enough, Tolaris. Still, the humans are indeed geniuses at using mere entertainment to inspire emotions in the viewers"

Tolaris had to admit that even he couldn't tear his eyes away from the fictional horror on screen. "A psychiatric institute for the criminally insane where its head physician is just as criminally insane as his patients." He shook his head at the notion. "I believe this is what humans would call a twisted irony. It is unfortunate that fiction does have a grain of the truth. Dr. Josef Mengele, Colonel Green, Dr. Arik Soong. This universe has its own share of such scientists even among aliens: Jha'dur Deathwalker for example. She seems to be the incarnation of both Dr. Mengele and the Earth Nazi commander Reinhard Heydrich. As if the truth was not enough, the humans have an unhealthy fondness for creating fictional twisted geniuses like Hannibal Lecter, Dr. Frankenstein—" He paused as in the film, a surveillance camera caught a scientist in a white medical coat walking jerkily as if time kept blinking, grasping a vicious-looking knife. "—and this Dr. Vannacutt."

A Vulcan woman, hair unconventionally flowing luxuriantly down to her shoulders, sat on the other side of Kov. She was wearing an expression of horror and disgust as the film's characters attempted to survive their night in the converted psychiatric institute. "We may be trying to integrate emotion with logic, but are we not going a little too far in this instance? If we are not careful, we may deserve the label given us by the Unfeeling Vulcans: the V'tosh ka'tur, Vulcans without logic. It is well that Vulcans do not believe in ghosts or in the paranormal activities that humans call the poltergeist. Poltergeist is simply activities that are yet to be explained by current science."

"Ah, Tasme," said Kov, "but remember Kiri-kin-tha's First Law of Metaphysics: 'Nothing unreal exists.' Humans have a long history of documentation of the 'poltergeist' which does not mean—"

A click signaled the activation of the Vulcan ship's intercom system. _"We are entering Sector 18 by 70 by 59. All members to their posts."_

Almost gratefully, yet regretfully, Kov ordered the computer to deactivate the film. "Remember, the next several films of choice are 'Vertigo,' 'The Ring' and 'The Grudge.'"

Tolaris and Tasme exchanged a glance of amusement. "Is there no film of an...uplifting nature in your library, Kov?"

A wide abashed grin appeared on Kov's face. "Such a nature indeed exists in the Earth database, Tasme. 'Life is Beautiful,' 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,' 'The Rocky Horror Show,' 'Some Like It Hot' and 'Annie.' Oh, and not least of all...some type of serial shows categorically called 'I Love Lucy.'"

The female Vulcan had to quickly nod her agreement and walk to her post to hide her silent amusement from Kov. Sometimes the ship's engineer could be..._enthusiastic_ about the human way to experience emotions.

xxxxxxxx

The small Vulcan ship dropped out of warp as it entered a star system. The port and starboard sides of the ship flared wider at the back to create room for the warp and impulse engine exhausts. If one were to look at its sleek rust-red construction from above, he would realize that it was formed in a square unlike the sleeker Maymora-class Vulcan dartship it resembled.

On it, Captain Tavin studied the main viewer. Viewing magnification revealed a gas giant with moons in the habitable zone of the star system. At least two of the moons appeared barely habitable. "Sensor report, Sekor."

The named Vulcan read his instruments before reporting. "A low-level ion storm is sweeping through the system in addition to a solar storm. They will not harm us. There is Minbari activity on one of the gas giant's moons. Several warcruisers of the Tinashi, Sharlin and Shargotti classes, defense satellites around the moon and a jumpgate in a separate orbit around the gas giant. We are outside the range of their scanners." A soft beep sounded on his console. Sekor frowned at the reading's incongruence. "A primitive sublight vessel is slowly entering the system... It doesn't appear to be inhabited nor does it appear to have any superluminal capability. However, an automated message is repeating itself in the lower bands of primitive radio frequencies."

"Let us hear it."

"_This is the Copernicus. We come in peace... This is the Copernicus. We come in peace."_

"Interesting. However, it does not concern us." The command chair gave the hint of a squeak as Tavin turned to Tolaris. The noise annoyed his sensitive ears, but this was an old ship of a frigate class not used by the Vulcan High Command for a decade. "What do we know about this place?"

"The Minbari have established a forward base of operations on the first habitable moon around the gas giant to coordinate their military venture against the Earth Alliance. When EarthForce learned of this, they sent an intelligence gathering unit of 47 men to the second and smaller habitable moon. That, I regret to say, is the extent of our knowledge of this system, except for the fact that the Minbari clearly knew about this system for quite some time. They have a name for it: Nostromo."

"Tolaris, Are we prepared to ionize the Vahklas' hull?"

"Yes, Tavin."

"Then do so."

The subspace field around the Vahklas widened into something resembling a funnel. Normally, this was used to gather space matter and radiation into the bussard ramscoops for the warp engines. This time, the ramscoop vents were sealed, forcing the gathered interstellar and solar radiation, and space matter to condense and wash over the ship's hull. This, Tavin knew, was not visible to the naked eye. It was designed to fool the slower scanning systems on the Minbari ships and the moon. While it may not be as good as the Minbari sensor stealth, it should serve the Vulcans' purpose. As long as the Minbari did not focus their scanners in the Vahklas' general direction, of course.

"Ready the warp matrix for a point-warp jump to the Earth listening post."

Tavin waited for both Sekor and Tolaris to signal readiness. A point-warp jump was necessary to increase the chances that the Minbari would not detect the Vahklas. Their best scanners were tachyon-based and therefore inadequate for detecting ships at speeds above lightspeed or Warp 1. The captain could feel a tense anticipation bordering excitement. Was this the correct emotion for conditions that could potentially produce a battle with a powerful enemy?

Receiving nods from Sekor and Tolaris, Tavin gave his order. "Jump."

The small Vulcan ex-frigate stretched itself into the warpspace realm. After a few carefully calculated seconds, the ship dropped out of warp once more. It was now in the shadow cone of the second moon. The Minbari moon was closer to the system's host star than the smaller moon used by the Earth intelligence unit. Added to the Vahklas' radiation disguise, it would be unlikely for the Minbari to detect the Vulcans.

The tense anticipation became a sense of relief and Tavin relaxed. He didn't think much of his crew's vote to explore this universe in order to explore feelings that would come with being in a war zone. He must accede to the wishes of his people on the ship, though. "Open tachyon hailing frequencies to the listening post."

Sekor manipulated his communication controls. He frowned. He manipulated them again. He still frowned.

"Sekor?"

"I apologize. The new tachyon transmitter is functioning optimally. Yet, there appears to be nothing on the moon to receive our hail."

Tavin turned to Tolaris. He knew what the captain wanted to know. "Sensors are showing signs of the Earth listening post on the moon. They are among what appears to be ruins of an ancient city on the moon."

"Life signs?" Tavin was wondering if the Minbari had discovered the listening post and overrun it.

Tolaris worked his controls, refining the sensors again and again. "Electrical storms are interfering with the sensors. Sometimes, I see one human lifesign. Sometimes two. Or more. Once, even nothing. Never the 47 lifesigns the sensors should be showing."

That didn't sound promising. Tavin stood up from his chair, signalling Sekor to allow the captain to speak through the tachyon frequencies. "I am Tavin, Captain of the Vulcan civilian ship Vahklas. We are here with supplies for your listening post on behalf of the Earth Alliance and its military arm, EarthForce. We are also here to render medical and technical aid. If you can hear this, please respond."

Sekor shook his head. Nothing from the listening post. "Perhaps due to the proximity of the Minbari base of operations, they are naturally suspicious and therefore reluctant to acknowledge us?"

That made sense. Humans at war could easily become a dangerously paranoid species. Without the emotional control taught by Surak, so could Vulcans. "Earth listening post, to prove that we are indeed here on behalf of EarthForce, we are transmitting all security codes pertinent to your post and our mission."

After a while, Sekor shook his head. Nothing. Has the Minbari indeed discovered the listening post? Were the lifesigns that Tolaris detected those of survivors of a Minbari attack?

"Tolaris, do the present conditions permit the use of transporters?"

"The combination of the local solar storm, low-level ion storm and and the electrical storms on the moon prohibits it."

The captain grimly studied the dark night-side of the moon. He could see the flashes of lightnings here and there. The mission has become an investigation. "Prepare the Vahklas for a planetary landing."

The two other Vulcans in the tiny bridge went about their duties efficiently. The Vahklas leveled itself to match the surface of the moon rolling beneath it and descended into its atmosphere. Her skin-hugging shields glowed as the ship created friction with the atmosphere. As it plunged into the cloud cover, the crew onboard felt the electrical storm battering the ship. Out from under the cloud cover, conditions were a little better, but it still had to deal with lightning bolts hurled by the storm and the dust blown across the moon's surface.

In the main viewer, Captain Tavin could see the ruins of a large alien city through the murkiness. "Set us in the central plaza."

The Vahklas weaved herself over and through the broken topless towers of the city, her engines stirring up more dust and rattling fragile stone walls. Three struts lowered themselves from under the ship as it landed on the cracked stone floor of the city's central square.

"Do the sensors detect any lifesigns?"

Tolaris looked frustrated as he worked his instruments. "I apologize, Tavin. The storm is interfering with the sensor readings. However, I am able to read this much: there are no indigenous lifeforms on this moon." He looked up from his console. "As far as I can tell, there is no life that is not indigenous to this moon."

Troubled, Tavin frowned. "Assemble a team. Distribute weapons and tricorders. We're going out."

On a side of the thick front leg of the Vahklas, a a rust-red armor clanged as it became a two-part hatch that slid open vertically, revealing blackness underneath. The lower part of the door continued to slide down, assuming its role as a ramp to the ground. Blue-white light glowed at the edges, outlining the door. The blackness became another three-part door that slid along each other to open horizontally.

The first man out was Captain Tavin, wary eyes quickly scanning the dusty vista. A hand grasped a thin phase-pistol as black as the secondary door. After him came Tolaris, Kov, Tasme and Sekor. Each carried a Vulcan phase-pistol and a circular tricorder. Tasme had a medkit slung on her shoulder.

She swung her tricorder around, blinking against the dust blowing across the square. She had to shout over the noise of the storm. "I'm not picking up any lifesign, human or Minbari!"

"I'm detecting human technology in that direction!" Tolaris pointed down a street that ran between two buildings.

Kov glanced down there and shivered at the ruined buildings. The windows stared at the visitors blankly and blackly, as if the city was offending by this latest alien disturbance. Tavin aimed a remote at the Vahklas. The pitch black door slid shut, but the outer door remained open.

Silently, the Vulcans carefully walked down the street, stepping over broken stones and small fallen pillars. Eyes looked around, both with wariness and with interest. The ruins had the appearance of an ancient prosperous city whose life was ended in an unknown catastrophe. Dry bones and fragile crockery crunched under booted feet. Here and there, the group could see ancient scorch marks where parts of the city once burned or where energy weapons struck from above. Small craters pockmarked the streets and walls.

Tolaris scanned the damages. He also had to shout over the noise of the storm. "They're not recent! The assault occurred a thousand years ago!"

Lightning flashed, causing Kov to jump. The light from it revealed a palatial building leaning drunkenly down into a large crater up ahead. Half of the street fell into it as well.

They stared at it as darkness returned. The crater appeared very large and deep. The loud voice of Tolaris: "That one also dates to a thousand years ago!"

Soon, the edge of the crater was at their feet. It was indeed deep: the bottom could not be seen in the darkness at all. Sekor squatted down to extend his tricorder over the edge. He shuddered at its readings. "The weapon that created this had at least 41 terajoules of power behind it! It was not a bomb nor was it a torpedo! It was a beam weapon!"

Tavin arched an eyebrow, resisting the temptation to imitate Sekor's shudder. He wondered what kind of alien species needed 10 kilotons of power in a beam weapon. It was as much power as Earth's first nuclear military detonation. Furthermore, he wondered what kind of war required the wielding of such powerful weaponry. He was glad it had occurred a thousand years ago and the aliens, whoever they were, no longer existed.

It was all beside the point of their mission. Tavin signalled for the others to continue to the source of human technology.

In due course, the Vulcans came upon another square, though smaller than where their ship landed. They could see a small vessel nestling against the side of a palatial building. Weapon turrets and scanning arrays bristled on and around the primitive human vessel. With their destination in sight, the Vulcans picked up their pace.

Kov did not see the small pothole in his path. A foot fell into it and tripped him. His arms flew wide, dropping the pistol and tricorder to catch him before hitting the pavement. One hand went through what felt like dry crumbling paper and thick dust.

As he opened his eyes, Kov found himself staring into the face of a mummified head, mouth wide open in a silent scream, sockets empty. He couldn't breathe as he shuddered at the sight. It was then he knew that the papery feel that met his left hand was actually the body's midsection. He quickly stood up, frantically wiping his hand on his pants.

Tasme quickly kneeled beside the body, waving her tricorder over it. The storm still forced her to shout to be heard. "A male human! The body is severely dehydrated!" She frowned at her tricorder reading and stood up. "As far as I can tell, the cause of death is organ failure—every internal organ is missing!"

Tavin reciprocated her frown. "Murder?"

She shrugged. "I do not know of any quick method of murder that includes clean removal of all organs and the complete dehydration of a body!"

"I know of one."

The Vulcans turned at Kov's voice. He glanced around the group as if regretting his comment. "That is...I've read of this kind of death in records from Earth. In the latter part of Earth's 20th century and the early 21st century, there was a series of identical mutilation of cattle across the planet. In the early 21st century, human bodies began to turn up with the same type of mutilation: every organ removed, the blood completely drained, leaving no stain on either the body or the ground, then the body is left behind to dry up or until discovery. Human mutilation was much more rare than cattle mutilation. Since they could not be explained or solved—the method was often beyond the capability of contemporary technology in most of the nation-states—and they were too rare to be of much concern, governments dismissed them as poltergeist or paranormal, and law-enforcement agencies filed them away."

Disgust drew lines on Tasme's face. "Humans could be illogical and callous sometimes in that era."

Kov shrugged. "The cause of such mutilations was never credibly discovered. There were theories, popular at the time, of aliens conducting experiments on the hapless civilization of Earth, but they were too disturbing or too incredible for the humans to accept."

Tolaris wryly half-smiled. "I doubt this moon has become the site of such ghastly experiments. For one thing, the Minbari would have noticed alien vessels going to this moon and leaving."

"Just like they noticed _us_ coming here?" shot back Kov.

"For another," continued Tolaris as if Kov had not spoken. "We have noted that you have been rather...enthusiastic about horror films from Earth."

Captain Tavin said, "All this is beside the point. If there are survivors, we will have the information we seek for clarification. If this is the work of an unusually skilled murderer, we will help the humans bring him to justice." He turned to Kov. "Fear and wild speculation without more supporting information are not productive for this mission. Please hold your emotion in check until a more appropriate time."

Kov nodded sullenly as the group continued on its way to the Earth vessel. Sekor soon found another body that was also missing internal organs and similarly dehydrated. Nervous glances were exchanged among the Vulcans. Two more such bodies were found, this time grasping the handle of the vessel's entrance.

"If this is murder," said Kov nervously, "it's more like a slaughter."

Tasme brought up her tricorder. "I'm detecting at least one human lifesign inside the vessel. It is weak."

The captain nodded and gingerly took hold of the human bodies, pulling them away from the door. A dry rasping tear separated the hand grasping the door handle from its dead owner. Using the butt of his pistol, he knocked at the mummified hand, clearing it off the handle. Soft colored lights glowed from a panel behind the handle. He tried to open the door only to find it sealed. His eyes went to Tolaris.

Tolaris nodded and held his tricorder up to the electronic panel at the handle. Working it, he managed to hack into the electronic system and unlock the door.

Grasping their phase-pistols tightly, the Vulcans followed in as Tolaris pushed the door open. The conditions in the Earth vessel was little better than outside. What objects that were not nailed down were clattered on the floor. A pipe hissed.

A frown of concentration crossed Tasme's face. "Do you hear that?"

A low voice was mumbling from far down the ship's single corridor. Leaving Sekor to guard the entrance, the Vulcans went down the corridor, tracking the mumbling voice and lifesign reading to another closed door. It was also electronically sealed. Tolaris efficiently repeated his work and a soft electronic beep signaled the lock's release.

Tavin gently and carefully cracked open the door. The words that the human was mumbling were now clear.

"Through the walls! It's coming through the—!" A groan of pain. "I need some ozones..." An angry shout. "Get out of my head!" A sigh of relief. "Our Father who is in Heaven, hallowed be the name, thy kingdom is done! Thy will is...something...that—on Earth as it is in space. Hail Mary—"

Just as the human was saying, "Hail Mary," the door opened completely to reveal a gaunt, tired and very emaciated human man. His dark military fatigues hung on him loosely. The Vulcans quickly covered up their disgusted horror at the man's condition. He wouldn't be out of place in the old Earth photographic records of prisoners in concentration camps during that world's Second World War. The human noticed the aliens looking at him. His eyes widened.

He screamed in terror. "Nooo! Aaaaahhhhhhh!" He ran, charging at and through the Vulcans, surprising them with his strength in spite of his emaciated condition. He disappeared down the corridor. A shout and a grunt signaled the man's successful run past Sekor at the vessel's entrance.

"If that's the murderer," said Tolaris, puzzled, "then I'm Andorian blue!"

xxxxxxxxx

Even though the city was clearly ruined and abandoned, it felt threatening. Kov made sure to stay close to Tasme and Tolaris. He would have preferred to stay with Tavin and Sekor. Even so, he took comfort from his proximity to the woman and the captain. The storm had abated, thankfully.

Another monumental doorway yawned blackly as they walked past. Dust devils made strange dim patterns in the darkness.

Kov had to remind himself that Vulcans do not believe in ghosts.

Tasme paused and swung her tricorder. "That's strange. For a moment, I registered another lifesign behind us. It's gone now." She went back to tracking down the human survivor.

Kov fearfully looked behind. The street was empty. But why was he feeling as if someone was watching him from close by? He turned back and saw that Tasme and Tolaris were several paces ahead. With a tiny squeak, he hurried to stay with them.

The tricorder led them to the front of what appeared to be a temple. A columned portico supported a wall that should have held up a roof. In the middle of the wall was an oval window containing a stained-glass image of a beatific-looking alien of an indeterminate gender. The face had pale blue eyes looking skyward, a high forehead, a totally bald head, earlobes that drooped down to the jawline. A jumpsuit of various shades of glittering purple and dark blue covered the alien's sexless—or is it hermaphroditic?—body. Each of the alien's upraised hands sported a star in the center of the palm.

"The human is in that structure," said Tasme.

Kov gazed up at the alien in the stained-glass window. If this was a temple, then it was supposed to be holy ground. He suddenly sensed someone, or something, behind him. He quickly turned, hoping, yet dreading, to catch the something. All he saw was an empty monumental fountain with an obelisk as its centerpiece. The feeling passed and he turned back. Why was he being jumpy?

"Is there something wrong?" Tasme was showing concern for Kov.

He felt happily grateful that she cared enough to notice. "Umm, I'm not certain, but I do not think we are alone here."

A scoff came from Tolaris. "Of course not! The human is in there."

"No. I mean...someone else. Or...something else."

A slanted eyebrow rose on Tolaris' forehead. "A...ghost?" His lips twitched at the ludicrously un-Vulcan concept.

Suddenly, Kov was feeling resentment against the other man. He may be handsome, he may be a skilled technician and a natural melder to boot, but he could be infuriating. Most of the time, Tolaris had shown his charming side to women, Captain Tavin and to foreigners. Sure, he could be a very nice guy when he's in the mood, but it irked Kov to be so..._dismissed_! "Tolaris, did Tasme not detect another lifeform only minutes ago?"

"She _thought_ she detected it. It was only a glitch or an effect of the storm here. Ion storm, solar storm, local electrical storm. Take your pick."

Tasme narrowed an eye at Tolaris, giving him her silent reproach. "Perhaps, Kov, the situation calls for greater emotional control and a greater command of logic. We will, perhaps, find out what happened here and, if any, fing other life once we get ahold of the human."

"Hear me!"

Startled, the Vulcans whirled to face the temple. Framed in the main doorway was the emaciated human soldier. He was pointing a shaky bony finger at them.

"Hear me, O Lord, and you miserable alien sinners! Judgment day is comin', and it don't care what you look like, and I have seen it! An Army of Darkness, Soldiers of the Devil, servants of the Princes of Satan! We're all in great danger! A pox upon this moon!"

Tolaris arched his eyebrow again, but with contempt. The human saw that.

"You!" He ran down the temple steps and grabbed at Tolaris' shirt. "A sound tree cannot bear evil fruit, unless it's got bad roots!"

Tolaris shook the man's hands loose. "We are here to help you..."

Wide wild eyes blazed at the Vulcan. "I have walked in the Valley of the Shadow of Death! Yeah, I have seen Satan's Dark Hand reach forth and beckon to his servants: Awake! Awake!" Each time he said 'awake' he shook Tolaris.

Annoyed, Tolaris glanced at the Vulcan woman behind the human. "Tasme?"

She quickly opened her medkit and took out a hypospray. She stuck a small chosen vial in it and pressed it against the wild-eyed man's neck. He visibly relaxed, the wild look leaving his eyes. Tolaris released him.

The human stumbled a bit before finding support from Kov. His lucid wide eyes searched Kov's eyes. He whispered, "You know. Somehow...you know."

He slumped in Kov's arms, asleep.

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Sekor studied the control panel of the Earth vessel, not really knowing what to do. He flicked a switch here, pushed a button there. Nothing happened. He waved his tricorder over the control panel once more, feeling frustrated. He suddenly sensed someone, or something, in the ship and turned to look for it. Nothing. He knew that Tavin was in another room, studying the mission logs.

The panel suddenly lit up. Sekor turned back to it, surprised, already forgetting about the feeling.

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Kov and Tasme watched as the human slept fitfully in the Vahklas' medical bay. The emaciated survivor was mumbled and occasionally yelled in his sleep.

"Tasme, how long has he been sleeping like that?"

"Two hours since he came out of the sedation."

She shook her head. "He weighs 85 pounds. He should be weighing twice that. Captain Tavin told me there was enough food in that vessel to last him for at least nine months."

"Is he...missing anything?"

The Vulcan woman turned to look at Kov. "Besides the weight, nothing. Well, there is a piece of his stomach, intestine and liver missing, but it could be the result of battle wounds or surgery for previous illnesses. There are no fresh wound or scar on him." She added, "There is one thing odd... He's missing part of his pineal gland."

Kov's eyebrows rose. The pineal gland was where some human metaphysicians and scientists think the human katra resided. A chill climbed up his spine. There were ancient stories from before the Time of Awakening on Vulcan, stories of murderers and mind-rapists seizing hold of your katra, but kept only a small part of it. In this fashion, the tormentors kept track of their victims. Of course, such a bond worked the other way, so many victims led law-enforcers and authorities to the criminals, putting a quick end to the torment.

The human woke up with a start. His wide eyes searched the unfamiliar room until they happened upon Kov and Tasme. He sat up in the medbed, watching them carefully and suspiciously.

Tasme said, "Are you unhurt?"

The response was tinged with suspicion and wariness. "I never felt better. I'm the picture of health. Where am I? Who are you?"

"You are on the Vulcan ship Vahklas. I am Tasme and this is Kov. I'm the healer and he's the ship chief engineer."

"Hello...," said Kov tentatively

"Vulcan? I think I heard something about a new alien race that Earth discovered. Pointy ears. Green blood. That's you?"

Tasme nodded maternally.

The human groaned and held a hand to his head. "My head hurts!"

"We had to sedate you."

"Oh, I was that bad! I didn't shoot anyone, did I?"

"No," said Kov.

A grim smile appeared on the soldier's face. "Then I haven't started any war. I'm not like Jankowski. No, sir."

The Vulcan woman arched an eyebrow, then smiled soothingly. "Your people and the Vulcans are allies. Even if you had shot one of us, our reaction would not be so...drastic as the Minbari's."

The weary soldier chuckled. "Black humor in a woman. I like that."

"It was only a statement of fact. Can you tell us who you are?"

"Amis, ma'am. I'm just a gropo." Seeing no recognition in the alien faces, he supplied, "Groundpounder. Soldiers. We fight on planet surfaces."

Kov nodded in recognition. "Like the soldiers that Starfleet calls MACOs. Military Assault Command Operations."

Amis squinted up at the overweight Vulcan man. "I don't know no Starfleet. Though, 'macos' sounds Earth enough." Hope gleamed in his eyes. "That's where we're going, is it? Earth?"

"No," said Tasme. "We are still on the moon."

A groan escaped Amis as he clutched his chest. "Holy Mother!" Suddenly, his eyes blazed. "We must leave! Now! Forget this place and never look back!"

Tasme looked up at Kov silently. "Many of your colleagues appeared to...have died in an unusual way. We are investigating how that happened."

Suddenly: "You're all gonna die! A Soldier of Darkness prowls the ruins! I have seen it!"

Alarmed, Tasme's hand searched its way to a table where a hypospray waited.

"Don't close your eyes! Don't sleep! It'll find you!" Amis' eyes flashed to Kov. "You! You know it!"

"I-I...I don't know..."

The human suddenly became lucid and serious. "I'm not crazy. It's here on this moon. Death. If you don't leave right now, it'll do the same thing to you as it did to..." His voice choked with emotion. "...to my friends. All 46 of them."

Tasme's hand paused above the hypospray. "Forty-six? There were forty-seven assigned to the listening post. You mean you're the only human alive on this moon?"

Amis nodded sadly.

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Sekor was working the controls of the Earth vessel. His ears picked up a noise. Was that a growl? He frowned. His imagination must be getting overactive. It was likely a pipe adjusting to new pressures in this primitive vessel.

Another growl.

He quickly turned around in the chair. His eyes widened. Sekor covered his face with his arms and screamed.

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Tasme bleakely looked up at Tavin's entrance into the medbay. In front of her was Sekor's body on a bio-analysis table. The body was not yet as mummified as the other bodies littering the ancient city, but it was already on its way to dehydration.

"He died in the same manner as the other humans. No internal organs to be found." Even her voice sounded dead. She had known him almost since the beginning of their group's experiment with the integration of emotions with logic. "This is one of those times that I sometimes think there may be merit in following the Unfeeling Ones' repression of emotion."

"Where's the human?" There was an edge in his voice.

"Amis? He's with Kov, eating."

A decisive look came into Captain Tavin's eyes. "It will be prudent to keep him under surveillance at all hours."

"Are you suggesting Amis is responsible for the murders? He was here with me and Kov at the time of Sekor's death."

Tavin frowned, not liking this alibi. "I am merely suggesting if something is threatening us, I will do whatever is necessary to protect our lives."

Tasme only raised an eyebrow, letting the captain's statement hang in the air.

He sighed, knowing that she knew that he didn't quite answer her question. He said, "The humans have a saying: 'Where's there's smoke, there's fire.' I do not intend to let us get burnt. I will talk to him now."

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"And now this is condensed milk pudding cake with a melted sugar coating, a recipe I found in the Vulcan diplomatic database from Earth."

Amis took a small forkfull and was delighted at its taste. "Do you always eat this good?"

"Not always," said Kov. He spread his arms a little to indicate himself. "I am a Vulcan. Vulcans are vegetarians. Therefore obesity, like mine, is very unusual, if not un-Vulcan. In the course of my investigation of emotions, I have found that taste is one of the biggest factor in feelings. Needless to say, that factor now delights me."

A shadow fell over the diners. Kov looked up in alarm and was relieved to find it was only Captain Tavin. Catching the look in the captain's eyes, Kov glanced at Amis who was focused on his meal, put down his utensils and stood up.

"Amis, I will be in Engineering."

The gropo grunted and continued to eat the vegetarian fare on his plate. Tavin took Kov's seat.

"Ah, Captain. Your ship is impressive. The food you carry is good, nothing like the rations we were stuck with. You have any meat, I hope?"

Tavin frowned, thinking of the bodies missing their organs. "Vulcans do not consume the flesh of animals. It...demeans both the consumer and the victim."

Amis smiled at the Vulcan captain. "'Demeans.'" He chuckled. "Then you don't eat fish or any kind of seafood?"

"It is allowed, but we rarely choose to eat them, and only if properly prepared in the way that animal flesh is not prepared for consumption."

"Then you will like Japanese cuisine. Lots of vegetable and tiny bits of seafood. Suits your people." Amis spread his arms a little, to indicate himself. "I can't afford your luxury. I look like I escaped Auschwitz. I must eat everything I can."

Tavin's eyebrows climbed up his forehead. "Including...the flesh of sentient beings?"

Amis' face darkened at the implication. "Humans, when pushed beyond the point of hunger and survival, would resort to cannibalism, but I'm not one of them. Never will. But it could happen. Never know." He angrily forked a vegetable and shoved it into his mouth, eyes defying Tavin to contradict him. "When we came here, there were 47 of us. It'd be amazing if 46 men—many were good friends—just sat back and let me kill them in cold blood. We are soldiers. Groundpounders. You may think that by definition, we are mass murderers. Hell, what is war but a government-sanctioned mass murder? But us fellow killers do not kill each other." He held up his fork, wagging it in front of his face. "You are civilians, so you may not understand this: Each time a soldier like me kills someone, a small part of himself dies. That's why we must deaden ourselves, make our emotion distant, before battle. Otherwise, we'd break down, go crazy, force Earth to waste hordes of counselors on us. Kov told me a bit about your messiah, Surak, about the other Vulcans. The control and repression of emotion sounds a lot like what we do. Only...you're not at war with other people. You're at war with yourselves!" Amis dropped his fork onto his plate and crossed his arms. "Don't start implying I killed my friends or your friend. If you have evidence, solid evidence beside a need to blame someone, call me."

Tavin silently watched Amis, betraying no emotion. The gropo waited, then shrugged and went back to his meal. Finally: "Do you want me to believe you?"

"Hell, yeah! But nothing I can do, if you're bent on your own conclusion, is there?"

"Vulcans are not afraid to look straight at something they do not want to see. Nor do they confuse the truth with what they wanted."

Amis nodded. "Riiight. Okay, what do you want to know from the honored dead like me?"

An eyebrow shot up, but Tavin would not be distracted by such an odd reference. "Tell me about your listening post."

The human was silent for a while, then a haunted look came into his eyes. "We are—were an intelligence-gathering unit—not set up for heavy combat. We heard about the Minbari command-and-control post on the moon next door, so we slipped over here before they finished setting up the perimeter scanners. We camped in the ruins here. As far as we knew, it was a dead world. Then..._it_ came in the night, during a storm. We heard nothing, saw nothing. It came right through the walls! Like a hot wind. The first man died just meters from me! Never even screamed. We ran. We ran! For a second, I thought I lost it. And then I saw it. Standing in the middle of a ball of lightning. And it looked like it came straight from hell!"

Tavin raised an eyebrow again. It sounded too much like one of the human films that Kov collected. He withheld his judgment, though. "You are here, alive. You survived the attack?"

"I didn't! It's keeping me alive—as a snack! It becomes part of you, feeding on you! The lucky ones were the men who died. What it took from me, I can never get back! That's how I weigh 85 pounds! A part of me is still inside that thing! I can feel it!" Amis shuddered and looked up into Tavin's eyes. Desperation crept into his voice. "Do you believe me?"

The Vulcan felt uneasy. He remembered the old stories of katra-rapists on Vulcan from before the Time of Awakening. He wondered if the Minbari had attained a similar katric manipulation that Vulcans now had. "It was...not a Minbari?"

"If it was, I'd recognize it! It's not. What it is...it's a nightmare! A-a monster, a Hellspawn!"

Tavin nodded, rubbing his chin. "I believe you."

"You do?"

"The feeling you mentioned...can it lead you to this...creature?"

"I think so. I think I can feel it calling me. Silly, isn't it?"

"My people have some...experience with such feelings. When we mate, we...create a bond. A psychic bond that sometimes allows the spouses to know each other's state of mind. Sometimes thoughts and...feelings, if possible, are shared."

"You saying that the thing thinks I'm its mate?" The human was incredulous and aghast.

The Vulcan shook his head. "In the distant past, there were...deranged individuals who sought such a bond and abused it. It has not been done for almost two thousand years, but it is still a most heinous crime. The creature that you encountered may be one such individual. It may not be Vulcan, but we take a very dim view of even non-Vulcans forcing such bonds and using it to kill. Using it to...eat the victims..." Tavin's face twisted in disgust. "Cannibalism is unthinkable for us, but it is worse than that."

Amis looked at the pointy-eared alien in wonder. Were Vulcans a telepathic people? But this Tavin didn't seem to know what he was thinking. Maybe they were just borderline telepaths, somewhere at P1 or below. He gave himself a mental shrug. That's better than full telepaths, isn't it? Would that help him against that...evil thing out there?

He hoped so. "Captain, the creature needs food to live. Your coming here has provided that for it."

Tavin grimly agreed.

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Kov walked down a corridor, hoping that Captain Tavin would take it easy on Amis. As far as he could tell, he was a harmless human in spite of being a soldier at war with another intelligent sentient species. Humans were an odd species. Strip them of all comforts of life, strip them of sleep, thrust them into a warzone and they could be more vicious, bloodthirsty and volatile than Klingons. Yet, put them in the midst of a peaceful and prosperous civilization with no shadow of war, humans could be as complacent and reasonable as Vulcans.

He reached the open entrance to Engineering. He could see the control table with the blue dome in its center, containing components of the warp matrix. The light of sparks occasionally brightened the hexagonal chamber. Sparks? Kov frowned.

He stepped into the chamber and his mouth dropped open. A huge frightening-looking barely visible being stood in Engineering. It was mostly invisible, the light bending only at the outlines. It was so tall it had to hunch down under the ceiling over the console it was working on. Bare outlines of claws reached into an open panel and ripped more components, causing sparks to burst out. Hisses came from the creature.

Kov's hand shakily reached for the tricorder in his pocket. He'd left his phase-pistol at the ship's entrance.

A growl and the creature appeared to turn around to look at him. Kov had the sense of red eyes glowing down at him. He should have run for safety, he knew, but fright kept him frozen to the spot.

Another growl and one of the creature's appendages hit Kov, throwing him against a wall in Engineering. The tricorder flew from his suddenly splayed hand. Whatever appendage the creature used, it had sharp points on it. Green bleeding lines were raked down Kov's soft cheek and shoulder.

The Vulcan groaned and gritted his teeth at the pain of a console hitting his back. He was bent down, trying to force himself to stand upright against the tight pain in his back. His wide terrified eyes searched for the invisible being, quickly catching the barely visible outlines. It growled and appeared to step forward to him, echoing thuds on the deck confirming the movement.

Kov remembered Amis talking about Death walking this moon and he absolutely believed it now.

A high whine and an angry blue-green beam came out of the chamber entrance, splashing over the creature.

A roaring scream.

Tasme stepped into the chamber and fired her phase-pistol again. Another roar and an appendage swept down, a claw tearing at her. She fell back, clutching her neck. The creature turned completely invisible, vanishing, and echoing thuds signalled its run from Engineering.

Kov kept himself frozen, waiting to see if the creature was actually gone. When nothing happened, he quickly slapped a panel, causing alarms to wail all over the Vahklas. Another panel activated the intercom. "Engineering to Medbay! We need medical attention here!"

Running to the downed Vulcan woman, Kov could see green blood gushing through her fingers clutching at her neck. Tasme was having difficulty breathing. Ignoring the blood, he gingerly held her head up onto his lap, brushing her hair away from her face and neck. Tasme's eyes locked onto his eyes. Weakening, her hand fell away from her neck.

Kov gasped at the sight. A vicious slash tore through the main artery and the throat. Even through the bubbling blood, he could see that her windpipe was destroyed.

When the medics arrived, the light in Tasme's eyes went out.

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Soft hands slammed down on the surface of a table. A strangled cry of rage: "NO!"

Kov was supporting himself against a table in the Medbay as Tolaris rubbed his aching back. He looked at Kov with concern. The overweight Vulcan was physically struggling with his emotions unleashed by Tasme's death. The hands clenched into fists on the table.

"It is wrong. A lifetime of exploration, of enjoying what life has to offer..._washed_ away in blood!" Anger entered Kov's voice. "And I was helpless to prevent it! I was frightened! Now she's dead!"

Suddenly, Kov rubbed the bridge of his nose, exhausted. "I'm tired. So tired."

Tolaris stopped rubbing his back and gently took hold of his unhurt shoulder. "It is not your fault. Even if you had done something, you would be dead with Tasme. That's logical."

"No!" Kov looked down at his trembling hands. "Emotions...it's a weakness! It disgusts me! I hate it! Logic? Where's the logic in feelings? Desires... I wanted to...feel...to feel everything!" His voice dropped to a whisper. "And I got everything." He raised his voice once more. "They were right. Now, I want to feel nothing. Give me control..."

"Kov..."

He looked around at Tolaris. Tears streaming from his eyes, he didn't fully recognize him.

"Tasme..." More tears. "Tasme... I could have given you so much. I wanted to show you...tenderness. But I was afraid. Afraid of rejection. Afraid! Tasme, did you know...? You had to know...how much I...love you. You're gone, now... Gone!"

An anguished cry tore from his throat. Tolaris gently pulled Kov into his arms. "Here... Death is never logical... You'll be fine..."

Kov sobbed into the other Vulcan's shoulder as his hands clenched tremblingly at Tolaris' back.

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Captain Tavin watched the visual sensor records. His lips drew in a tight grim line as he watched the nearly invisible alien being struck Tasme. "Is this the creature?"

Amis nodded. His eyes were wide, intensely studying the creature. "It's the Soldier of Darkness."

The captain thought that the label could fit this particular being. Its outlines indeed suggested something nightmarish, something from the oldest and darkest of Vulcan legends. His eyes went to Tolaris holding a tricorder. "How is Kov?"

"He's sedated and resting in his quarters." Tolaris held up the tricorder. "He dropped this when the creature attacked. It did not register the creature. It would appear that the creature has the ability to phase itself out of the visible spectrum and out of the spectrum detectable by sensors. I would say that the creature has a...personal phase cloak." He worked the tricorder and turned it so that Tavin could see the readings. "We may not be able to detect it directly, but the tricorder registered an air displacement where the creature would be."

"Then we can indirectly detect it," said Tavin. "The only problem would be knowing where the air displacement is." He turned his eyes to Amis.

"W-w-why are you looking at me like that?"

"Can you sense the creature? Feel it now?" The tinge of command colored Tavin's voice.

Soldierly duty kicked into the human and the gropo nodded curtly. "We have unfinished business. I intend to finish it for it."

"Yes. We must eliminate the creature. Tolaris, set all phase-pistols to kill. The stun setting did not work on it. Once it is eliminated, we will depart this moon. If EarthForce decides to send replacements to the listening post, it is their decision. However, I will recommend against that."

Tolaris said, "Tavin, the creature was sabotaging Engineering when Kov interrupted it. It destroyed the subspace transmitter. Furthermore...we do not have warp capability. If he had not walked in at the time, the creature would have succeeded in initiating a countdown to a reactor core breach."

"Then we must assume the creature to be an intelligent sentient being."

"But," interjected Amis, "it won't stop for a chitchat."

Both Vulcans nodded their agreement. There was no reluctance in it. Two of their comrades had already died and they were not feeling merciful at the moment. _If this is war_, Tavin thought, _I don't want any part of it._

Tavin said, "Without the warp drive, we cannot return home immediately. Without subspace communications, we cannot summon assistance from either Starfleet, EarthForce or the Vulcan High Fleet. If we use the tachyon array on either the Vahklas or the Earth vessel, we risk attracting attention from the Minbari. Requesting assistance from the Minbari is not an option, either. Do we still have impulse, Tolaris?"

Tolaris gave a nod.

"Then we have the option of going to the local jumpgate."

Amis frowned. Was there any other way to travel? He didn't know what the 'warp drive' was. "The Minbari will see you running for the gate and shoot you down."

"I agree that it is a dangerous option, but it's an option nonetheless. There is another way to go home: go at maximum impulse to the next available jumpgate. That is at least two lightyears away from here. Vulcans have the lifespan to endure the long voyage, but you do not, Amis. Furthermore, provisions on the Vahklas are limited, even for us. Therefore, it is not an option."

"There is another matter," said Tolaris. "We do not have the codes for the beacons with which to navigate through hyperspace. Without the codes, we risk getting permanently lost. Going for the jumpgate is indeed a very dangerous, and limited, option."

Amis nearly jumped up. "But I do! That is...the codes are in my ship." He shuddered. "And that means going across the city for them."

Tavin nodded his gratitude. "We will obtain them during the search for the creature. We will need you for the search. It is risky, but we do need to eliminate the creature so that it does not endanger us or any other who may come later."

"It's a plan, then!"

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Tavin had to control his patience. Tolaris was quickly downloading the hyperbeacon codes from the Earth vessel's computers with Amis' help. Two Vulcans stood guard at the vessel's entrance, holding phase-rifles and constantly sweeping the vicinity for air displacements with tricorders. Two more such guards were waiting at the Vahklas, similarly armed and sweeping the vicinity with their own tricorders.

Amis jumped up from his seat. "Done!"

Tolaris carefully re-checked his tricorder and nodded. "We have completed the code download. I am now relaying the information into your tricorder against any loss."

The Vulcans turned to go.

"Wait!" Amis stuck into a pocket his phase-pistol borrowed from the Vulcans and grabbed a rifle lying on the deck. He slapped its barrel and yanked a mechanism under it, clicking it into place. He grinned at the two Vulcans. "PPR. Phased-Plasma Rifle. Nothing like it!

"Indeed," said Tavin neutrally.

Outside the Earth vessel, the four Vulcans followed the human gropo through the dim. The soft blue glow of tricorders swung around each Vulcan constantly. In the sky above the jagged broken tops of the ruined buildings, clouds had cleared, revealing stars and the heat-glow of ionized gas scattered in the dark side of the gas giant. Soon, the human's bond with the creature led them to the temple with the stained-glass portrait of the bald genderless alien.

"It's in there!" Amis suddenly ran up the steps into the temple.

Tavin shouted for him to wait for them. The Vulcans ran after them. Shouts and the sound of the PPR firing came from inside. Inside the temple, a broken dome with silver stars on the underside permitted natural starlight to light the columned nave. A pause permitted the Vulcans to see Amis standing on what appeared to be the temple's stone altar, firing his PPR at something in the darkness, screaming his pented up rage. The phased-plasma bursts struck the creature, bringing a vague rippling outline into view. Suddenly, the emaciated human flew up from the altar. The invisible creature had grabbed hold of him.

Tavin ran forward, aiming his phase-pistol, and fired an blue-emerald beam at the creature. With a screeching roar, the creature dropped Amis, stepped aside and vanished. Tavin felt a sudden breeze. Tolaris was sent flying into a columned aisle and the two guards behind him were thrown away from each other. The creature had run past the Vulcans, escaping the temple.

"Are you unhurt?"

Amis groaned and pushed himself off the floor. "No. But I'll be fine, Tavin. Dammit! My rifle's not hurting it at all. But your gun...it seems to hurt it. What's it using?"

"Laser phased into a spectrum designed to damage the molecular bonds. Hence, the term 'phase-pistol.' We can corner the creature and fire all weapons at it."

Amis shook his head. "It's smart. It's a Soldier of Darkness. It won't show itself just so we can shoot it. I will get it to show itself." He closed his eyes and slowly pointed at a direction. "It's that way."

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The crater yawned darkly. Tavin and Tolaris immediately recognized it. It was the same crater they had seen earlier, the one that was created by an impossibly powerful energy beam. The thin human stepped up to the edge, staring down into the dark abyss. Amis turned to look through the Vulcans. Not at them, but through them.

"Tavin!" said one of the Vulcan guards. "I'm detecting an air displacement behind us!"

The group turned as one to face the invisible creature, hefting pistols and rifles.

"The air displacement is moving... There!" shouted Tolaris, pointing in another direction, close to the crater edge. All weapons swung to face the new direction.

"C'mon! C'mon!" taunted Amis loudly. "You didn't finish eating me! Didn't your mother teach you to finish your meals? Finish it! Finish me!"

The Soldier of Darkness became visible, running toward Amis. The Vulcans momentarily shivered at the sight. The monstrous creature's chitinous armor gleamed blackly like mottled oil in the starlight. Black spines, the kind that Earth crabs have, sprouted from its armor. Two eyes glowed red above its fanged snout. Two horns grew on its head. It was just as Amis described: a thing from hell.

The Vulcans did not need a command from Tavin to fire. Blue-green beams lashed out at the creature. Plasma bursts came rapidly from Amis' PPR. The Shadow Warrior screeched as the weapons fire caused areas of its black chitinous armor to glow dark red.

The human gave a primal yell. The four Vulcans edged toward their own rage against the creature as they gritted their teeth and remembered the deaths of Sekor and Tasme. They pressed their triggers harder. Continuous emerald beams pulsed at the creature more brightly. Finally, the weapons burned through the armor and the Shadow Warrior gave a final screaming screech as it toppled over the edge down into the crater, vanishing.

"It's gone...," breathed Amis in wonder and relief. "It's gone..."

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The Vahklas rose from the ruined city's central plaza, stirring dust. It weaved among the broken topless towers of the city until it hovered over the square where the Earth vessel waited. Phased-laser beams shot forth from the former frigate of the Vulcan High Fleet, carving up the other small ship until a beam touched its fusion reactor. The vessel exploded, scattering debris and shaking nearby buildings and towers into falling to pieces. For the first time in a thousand years, the city suffered a new crater from a weapons attack.

The Vulcan privately-owned ship climbed up into the sky and beyond.

Amis watched the main viewer as the sky darkened and the stars ceased twinkling. He was amazed at the artificial gravity technology commanded by the Vulcans. Soon, the stars became the hard un-twinkling dots of light in space. He never thought he'd be so grateful for the cold hard stars. It felt really good to be alive. Even better to be free.

"Ionize the hull," ordered Captain Tavin.

The human watched Tolaris work his intruments. He glanced over to the only other workstation in the bridge. A new Vulcan stood in the late Sekor's place. Things may have changed for the better, but they demanded an uncomfortably high price. Forty-six humans and two Vulcans were dead. And that nice Vulcan, Kov, was back to work, but his subdued demeanor demanded the attention of a counselor, Amis knew.

A soft beep sounded from Tolaris' station. "Tavin, the primitive vessel we detected earlier is still entering the system. Its course will take it through the gravitational pull of the moon. The Minbari post on the other moon will be on the other side of the gas giant when it comes. It is highly likely they will not notice its passing."

"What vessel? What're you talking about?" Now that he was free, Amis could indulge the luxury of curiosity.

"A primitive cryoship," supplied Tolaris, "whose technology is similar to vessels of your EarthForce, though much older. It identified itself as the Copernicus. It does not appear to have jumpengines."

"A sleeper ship!" said the human, surprised. He became somber. "If the Minbari keep killing us, at least somewhere in this galaxy, human life will go on, untouched by war."

Tavin arched an eyebrow. "Indeed."

"The local jumpgate is in visual range," reported the new bridge worker.

At a command from Tavin, the main viewer showed the jumpgate hanging in the sea of stars. It presented freedom and a way home.

"Minbari scans are intensifying," reported Tolaris. He looked up from his console. "They have detected us. Two Tinashi-class warcruisers are maneuvering and increasing speed to intercept us."

The jumpgate also presented one more gauntlet for people on the Vahklas to go through.

"Mazzin, increase speed to three quarters impulse."

The blue glow on the Vahklas' engines brightened as the tiny Vulcan ship increased speed. One of the Tinashi's overtaking her sister launched Nial fighters which were faster than their mothership. A main neutron cannon on the Tinashi opened fire, but the shot went wild. The target was too far away for an accurate shot.

Amis' hands shot up to the edge of Tolaris' console as the ship vibrated when one of the Nial fighters managed a shot at the backside of the Vahklas.

"Shields are holding," said Mazzin.

Captain Tavin nodded and leaned forward in his chair. "Activate the jumpgate."

"You can do that this far away?"

"Yes, Amis. It is a simple matter of using the subspace sensors as a carrier wave for the tachyon signal."

"Simple! Simple, he says!"

It was a rhetorical comment, and Tavin recognized it as such. In the main viewer, the jumpgate activated and a vortex bloomed into existence. The Vahklas shook under the fire of several Nials. The ship lurched at a more powerful shot.

"That was from the lead warcruiser. The neutron beam grazed us, but the shields are now at 96 percent."

Amis kept his eyes wide open at the main viewer, afraid that if he blinked, the jumpgate would either not be there or inactive.

"Increase to full impulse," ordered Tavin.

"Excuse me," said Tolaris, "but is that not risky? If we go in at such a high speed, we could impact the vortex energy barrier or overshoot the beacon signal from the gate. I do not need to remind you of the dangers of losing track of the beacon in hyperspace."

The ship shook again under the fire of fighters. One Nial appeared on the viewer, outpacing the Vahklas.

"Your caution is noted. Proceed, Tolaris."

"Yes, Tavin."

The throb of the engines climbed into a hum that Amis could feel through his feet and hands. Such power for such a small ship!

His attention to that thought almost made him miss seeing the Nial suddenly fall back, disappearing from the main viewer. Finally, the jumpgate appeared to approach rather than remaining the same size via distance.

"On my command, drop to one quarter impulse."

Then they were almost upon the gate. Tavin's next order was edged with tension. "Execute!"

The Vahklas immediately slowed just before it crossed the jumpgate's threshold. Then the mysterious properties of the swirling vortex took hold of the tiny Vulcan ship, causing it to accelerate once more, and stretch out into hyperspace. The vortex collapsed before any Nial fighter could pursue into hyperspace.

xxxxxxxx

Kov watched the turmoil of hyperspace through the window of his quarter. He wasn't actually seeing hyperspace, only using the vista as a background for his thoughts. Disorder, chaos and turmoil was the nature of hyperspace. Some could call it beautiful, but beautiful in the way lava is beautiful. Normal space had an order of its own, a cold calm, and a beauty that cannot be denied. If hyperspace was known two thousand years ago in his home universe, Surak would likely have used these dimensions to illustrate his points of logic and control of emotions.

The group that had left Vulcan on the privately-owned Vahklas rejected the Unfeeling Ones' interpretation of Surak's advocacy of emotional control as meaning repression of all emotion. Instead, the group, headed by Captain Tavin, sought to integrate emotion with logic while actually following the famous philosopher's advocacy of controlling emotions. Kov had enthusiastically dove into the group's experiment with emotions. He wanted to feel everything that life had to offer. Like others in the group, Kov wanted to taste the apple without getting its downsides.

And they did at Nostromo, thanks to that Soldier of Darkness.

His eyes dropped down to the pile of datadisks on his desk. These contained the human films that he obtained from Commander Tucker and during stopovers at human outposts and colonies.

A chime rang at the door.

"Enter."

It was the human soldier Amis. He was already on his way back to recovery, including regaining his weight.

"Hey, man! How're you doing?"

Kov pondered the question for a while. He knew that humans engaged in empty small talk that more often than not employed untruths. Such inanities were no longer attractive or even tolerable.

"It is agreeable to see you."

A quick grin appeared on Amis' face. "'Agreeable'? I think that's the first original answer I've heard in a long time." He sat down on the bed beside Kov. "When we reach the Io Transit Station, I'll be enjoying my very VERY overdue shore leave on Earth. What are y'all gonna do?"

"We are not certain. Before we crossed the threshold into this universe, we had decided that our experience with emotion is somewhat lacking. Non-Vulcans spoke of the excitements of being in a war-zone. The war with the Romulans could have addressed that lack, but the Vulcan Council announced its order to the High Command to pursue any Vulcan violating the prohibition against going where Romulan ships may travel. Your war with the Minbari offered an acceptable alternative."

Amis winced. He knew that those who were either innocent or naive had their imagination fired by stories of glory and excitement in war. Almost invariably, they wore smiles going into a war, then came back broken or otherwise drastically changed. "You've lost the taste for war."

It wasn't a question, but Kov nodded. "And we have lost the taste for feeling emotions as well. Our recent experience has made us what the Unfeeling Vulcans so often accuse us of being: V'tosh ka'tur. Vulcans without logic. We will...attempt to reintegrate ourselves into Vulcan society. If Vulcan do not have the social toleration of our re-integration, we will attempt one of the Vulcan colonies. Patora, the new colony at P'Jem or the human-Vulcan colonies at Tau Ceti."

Amis nodded, understanding. His eyes were caught by the datadisks on Kov's desk. "What are those?"

"These? They are part of my small collection of human visual entertainment. I no longer have the taste for them." Dark Vulcan eyes went to the human. "Do you desire them?"

"Oh, do I! Can I have them?"

"I will see about transferring them into datacrystals."

"Hey, thanks!"

"I am curious—that is one emotion that even the Unfeeling Ones accept—I am curious. Why do you desire visual fiction? Do they not pale against the reality? Do they not remind you of what you experience?"

Amis chuckled. "Yes, they do. Humans, you see, like to distract themselves from the reality of life. Some soldiers even like to watch war movies. Sure, they remind them of their experience, but at least this time, they are only spectators rather than participants. That is what make 'visual fictions' as you call them, so attractive to us."

A slanting eyebrow rose. "In essence...you prefer...fiction to the truth?"

"Yeah. Stupid, I know. Just look at our politicians. They lie to each other and to us all the time. The truth almost always ruffles feathers and is called a 'gaffe' and a 'political error.' Even diplomacy is often called the art of lying. No one really wants the truth, not when it forces them to look at their own failings."

"That is..." Kov frowned. "...illogical."

"Tell me about it! Humans are rarely, if ever, accused of being a logical species." Amis stood up. "Thanks again for everything, Kov. I mean it!"

"You are welcome."

Just as Amis was about to go through the door, Kov spoke once more. "Amis, I have also been thinking about...that creature at the listening post. I highly doubt that it is indigenous to that moon. Do you have any idea concerning its origin?"

The human was silent for a while, expressionless. Finally, he said, "When I was still connected to it, I had dreams that were..._colored_ by the bond. In some of my dreams, I could feel its desire to go home. Go home and serve its masters. Masters called the Lords of Chaos or simply 'Shadows.' They made me think of the 60 Princes of Hell. It wanted to use you as food, and I think it wanted your ship as a way home." He shrugged. "It sabotaged your engines, I know. Don't ask me about its motives. But..." He frowned again. "It had a name for home. Z'ha'dum."

"Zuh...ha'dum," repeated Kov, trying the name out on his tongue.

"Yes. That's all I know and that's more than I ever wanted to know. And between you and me, the fact that the creature has a homeworld full of masters somewhere out there... It's scaring the hell out of me."

Kov made a small bow of gratitude and raised a hand, splitting his fingers into a V. "Peace and long life."

"Uhhh... What's the proper answer, Kov?"

"'Live long and prosper.'"

"Hey! I'd take that in my heart anytime!"

When Amis was gone, Kov went back to watching the roiling vista of hyperspace and permitted its violence to carry his thoughts back to the moon where Tasme died. He wondered what would happen if his people, or any of the members of the Coalition of Planets, encountered Z'ha'dum itself.


	10. Strategies

This chapter takes place before the previous chapter. For reasons of coherence, I have arranged them in this fashion, as you will soon see.

Michael Alfredo Garibaldi was very drunk, so drunk he was afraid he would fall off his stool. At the other side of the bar, two women were laughing. They could be talking about anything, but he thought they were laughing at him. It didn't matter.

His eyes automatically wandered up to the vidscreen above the rows of liquor bottles and the bartender. On it, ISN was talking about the blue-skinned aliens and their recent battle with a Minbari warcruiser. For a while, the image was that of the alien ship with maintbots hovering around it, its missing wing already replaced.

Garibaldi gave a small chuckle. The alien ship looked like a seagull that someone had punched in the face and it hasn't realized it while it still flew.

The bartender came by. Garibaldi realized that the bartender was no longer two men as he was a few minutes ago. His drunkenness was fading. He could see himself groaning from yet another hangover and buying yet another Vitamin-B complex from the pharmacy in the near future.

"Hey, barkeep! Another one!"

"Mike, you got enough poison to last you the day. If you really want to, come back tonight when it makes a hell lot more sense for you to drink up."

"Aw, c'mon!"

The bartender shook his head with pity. "Why are you pissing yourself away?"

Garibaldi made a fist and angrily slammed it down on the bar surface. "You fucking know why! Give me 'nother!"

The bartender folded his arms. "No can do. I'm not going to be responsible for a good man like you dying of alcohol poisoning."

"Maybe I want to die!"

The bartender rolled his eyes. "You said that before. Many times, I might add. If you really wanted to die, you still have that slugthrower at your place. There's the EarthForce recruitment office, if you prefer a blaze of glory to go along with dying. That'd be better for us. Take a Minbari or a few down with you."

Garibaldi glared at the man behind the bar, but his lips quivered. "Aww, hell! Why did Frank Kemmer have to die? It was my fault that the bomb got him, not me. Should have been me in that shuttle when it blew at Io!"

"Okay, okay, you really have more than enough for today. Off you go. Lie down and sleep it off. You can come back and tell me all about it again. Actually, my friend, I'd prefer you not to come back. Stay home. Find a job. Get sober. In whatever order you want. Just go before a cop comes in and starts looking at you funny."

"Awright, awright. Just lemme give my bladder a rest, then I'll go."

Some time later, Garibaldi was picking his way through the streets of the domed city on Europa. Once or twice, street thugs eyed him speculatively, but decided that it would be wiser to leave him alone. Even though Garibaldi was not yet sure-footed, he was still a tall, solidly built man from his stint as a detective for the Galilean Moons and from having a Dilgar War veteran groundpounder for a father.

He continued walking down the middle of the pedestrian street, dodging people, bicycles, and several slow-moving groundcars. Hangover beginning to grow in his head, Garibaldi steered himself toward the nearest pharmacy for the Vitamin-B medicine. He could see the engorged globe of Jupiter hazily through the glass dome above. How long would this dome hold the Europan atmosphere at bay until the Minbari come?

Coming out onto a square with a pillar in the center, erected for some dead hero of Europa's colonization, he noticed that a crowd had gathered at the pillar. A man was standing on the pillar's high pedestal, having the scrawny, swarthy and dirty look of an Europan miner.

As Garibaldi was skirting the edge of the crowd, the man was saying, "And so you can see how the MegaCorps are robbing us blind. You can see why we are going on strike. They are using this war as an excuse to put much bigger demands on us. Impossible unfair demands!" The miner drew an identicard from inside his clothes and held it over his head so that the crowd could see what it was. "This marks me as a miner of Europa and a citizen of Earth." With that, he viciously tore and twisted the plastic identicard.

Cheers rang out. So did shouts of "Treason!" and "Traitor!" Someone threw a half-eaten apple at the miner. He ducked, only to be caught in the side of the head by a rock. He fell to the ground. The rock-thrower's triumphant shout abruptly turned into a bellow of pain and outrage when someone else punched him in the face.

With cries of "Close the mines!" and "Down with the MegaCorps!" several young men ran off, presumably to help the miners strike. An old woman, outraged at the unpatriotic behavior of the youths, hit one of them on the head with a full string grocery bag, then kicked him as he stumbled to the ground.

Garibaldi saw it all with perplexed horror. Suddenly, his interest in the brawl slid from the professional to the personal as a fat man ran up and kicked him in the shin without finding out which side he was on.

His yelp was reflexive. So was his counterpunch. The fat man stumbled away, holding his suddenly bleeding nose. He had friends, however. One of them seized Garibaldi's arms from behind while another hit him in the stomach. Before they could do more damage on the now sobered up ex-detective, a man with a cast on his right leg neatly clubbed the hitter with a crutch. He fell with a groan.

Garibaldi stomped the man at where the leg met the foot. Since he was wearing heavy police-issue boots, the man shrieked and let go. When the ex-detective turned to give a final punch in the face, the rioter was running away with a limp.

"Thanks," said Garibaldi to the crutched man.

The good samaritan was bending over to the man he had clubbed, busily frisking the unconscious man for his wallet and valuables. He grinned up at Garibaldi. "Not a problem! Down with the MegaCorps!"

As riots have a tendency to do, this one was rapidly outgrowing the incident that started it. Already, several small merchants' stalls were overturned and looted. Another, this one a hot-dog stand, went over with a crash as Garibaldi watched. A woman ran past him with her arms full of cheap jewellery. They had already begun to smash into the stores and loot them too. As he watched, a man struggled to pull an expensive suit off a mannequin in a smashed store window, and was attacked and robbed in his turn before he got it completely off. Garibaldi nervously sniffed for smoke. A maniac starting a fire could quickly kill off the precious air supply in the small dome.

Through the shouts and screams, and through the sound of glass and other fragile objects shattering, Garibaldi heard a deep rhythmic tramping coming down the street, closing fast. He wasn't the only one hearing it. The warning cry "The cops!" came from several people at the same time.

A company of police-men and -women burst into the square, dressed in riot-control gear. A barrage of rocks, sticks, and merchandise greeted them. They ducked behind their riot shields. One of them fell, holding a hand to a suddenly bleeding gash in the neck. The rest surged forward, swinging their long riot batons. A few were even equipped with taser rods.

The rioters didn't have a chance against their grim discipline and efficiency. Here and there, a man, or even two or three together, would stand and fight. They got broken heads or paralyzing shocks for their trouble. The riot police rolled across the square like a wave at the beach.

Garibaldi fled with most of the other people in the square. Going up to a police officer and explaining that he wasn't involved was a very good way to get hurt.

He got hurt anyway. The alley down which he and several other people ran was blocked by a broken down groundcar with its driver trying to fix the engine under the open hood. A squad of riot police came after them. Garibaldi's shout of protest was drowned out by everyone else's, and by the triumphant shout of the policemen. He felt an intense burst of pain in his head. His vision flared white, then plunged into darkness.

**UES Enterprise NX-01, Earth Alliance Sol System**

Shran pointed at a schematic on the main screen in the Command Center. "Here, there. That's when we sent our transporter beam through, the beam was slightly refracted by the polycrystalline alloy. We were lucky that the Minbari weren't energizing the hull or we'd end up with very dead and scrambled soldiers of the Imperial Guard."

The flashing colored lights on the computers and the dimness of the chamber made Shran's disappointed expression look sinister. There was almost none of the brightness of the ship's bridge here.

"They died anyway," said Commander John Sheridan.

Shran's face darkened, antennae drooping. "Yes. The cowards self-destructed. The least they could do was warn us. Keval was a good friend of mine. Now he is dead."

T'Pol arched an eyebrow. "You did not warn them of your boarding action."

Shran waved the comment off. "It doesn't matter anyway. The Andorian Imperial Command just informed me that the Chancellor and the Parliament are drafting a declaration of war." Seeing T'Pol's look becoming accusatory, he added, "If I hasn't gone after the Minbari, they would have done it anyway to support our ally, United Earth, and its own new ally, the Earth Alliance. That's what alliances are for, isn't it?"

Frowning at Shran's offhand manner, Captain Archer nodded, conceding the point for T'Pol and Sheridan. "With Vulcans, Andorians and Starfleet in the mix, EarthForce should be doing better against the Minbari soon."

Sheridan agreed. "What's the progress on our Olympus corvettes in your side?"

"At last report from Starfleet, several drydocks at Jupiter Station have successfully converted to the specs for your ships. By the end of this month, the first Olympus should be rolling out of the docks with its own phase cannons, improved plasma cannons, gravity plating and polarizing hull plating. I daresay it might even stand enemy fire longer than the Enterprise. That thick armor you have is very useful."

Sheridan shrugged modestly. "Eehhh. When you don't have force shield or polarizing technology, you must make do. You couldn't add your photonic torpedoes?"

Archer's face creased in a smile. "Your missiles do the job well enough. They're good enough for Starfleet to take advantage of your technology by installing point-defense missiles and interceptors in our starships. Even the engineers at Utopia Planitia are eagerly adding them to the plans for the next class of starship. The Romulans are going to be surprised." The smile quickly vanished. "Besides, we need all the torpedoes we could make for Starfleet."

"I understand." Sheridan actually did understand. What was amazing was that both EarthForce and Starfleet were bending over backward to help each other when each could just go on its own merry way against either the Minbari or Romulans. For the life of him, he couldn't imagine the end results. One thing was for sure: Each Earth will reap the benefits and come off much better in the end than if he hadn't accidentally opened the quantum rift.

"Too bad your starships can't open their own jumppoints," said Sheridan. "It would make things a hell lot easier. For both of us, for both wars."

T'Pol said, "The Vulcan Science Directorate is working with Starfleet to remedy that. They have already determined that there is promise in applying what we know of the Xindi subspace vortex technology to the creation of jumppoints."

"How does that vortex technology work?"

"The Xindi are able to open energy portals into the subspace realm and traverse vast distances fairly quickly. For example, it would have taken the Enterprise six weeks to go from Xindi space to Earth at Warp 5. The Xindi are able to traverse the same distance in ten hours."

Sheridan whistled. "'Fairly quickly'? What an understatement!"

A soft snicker came from Jonathan Archer. "Vulcans have a talent for understatements."

Shran smiled, already intimately familiar with that Vulcan talent.

T'Pol arched an eyebrow at Archer and continued. "Needless to say, if we succeed in applying the technology to the opening of jumppoints without the need for the inefficient bulky and power-hungry jumpengines and supplies of Quantium-40, it would be a revolution in interstellar travel in both of our universes."

"I'll say!"

The Andorian captain waved a hand, saying, "This discussion of technology is very interesting, but we still have a war to fight. Commander, what is the latest from EarthForce Intelligence about where the Minbari will strike next?"

Sheridan winced. "Intelligence about the Minbari is always spotty at best. When your Vulcan ship...the...the Vahklas, isn't it? When it supplies and improves our forward listening post, intelligence should improve. Anyway, the best we could tell is that the Minbari are making a move toward the Signet System. Here, let me bring it up."

A datacrystal flashed in the blinking lights of the Center's computers before it was inserted into a new dataport in one of the computer consoles in the Command Center. They waited as the ship's computers automatically analyzed the datacrystal and bring up the information on the main screen. The detailed scan schematics of a Minbari warcruiser was replaced by a starmap. Tiny labels attached themselves to the stars in the map.

T'Pol quickly compared it with the information in a datapad. "Captain, it would appear that the star of the Signet System is 61 Cygni in our universe."

Sheridan nodded knowingly. "We called it 61 Cygni before we colonized the system, too."

A look of deeper meaning crossed Archer's face and Shran noticed it. "You know something about this star system."

"We called it 61 Cygni until we made First Contact with an alien race that has a homeworld there. The Tellarites."

Andorian antennae rose in dawning realization. Sheridan didn't quite understand yet. "You have an alien race living in the system in your universe? We don't have anything like that. Maybe there was something once, but it has been a victim of border skirmishes between the Centauri and Narn. When we colonized it, there was nothing there. Just an abandoned Centauri colony."

"Don't you see?" said Shran. "If we play this right, we can even the odds with the Minbari by bringing in the Tellarites. Tellarite warships may not be much, but the number will help."

It was Archer's turn to wince. He didn't like the sound of that. It made them sound like scheming warmongers, pulling strings to make nations dance to their tune. Being an impatient and posturing people, he knew that the Tellarites will jump at the chance to fight in their homesystem, even if it wasn't really their homesystem. By explicit agreement, each member of the Coalition of Planets must share full information about their individual opponents to promote the free trade and mutual security included in the Coalition Treaty. Once information about Signet reaches Tellar, the Earth Alliance would get another new ally, if a temporary one.

A whistle sounded, signaling an incoming message over the ship's intercom. _"Bridge to Captain Archer."_ It was the voice of Hoshi Sato. She sounded troubled. Archer pressed the activation button.

"_Sorry to bother you, Captain, but I think you should see this. Tune one of the screens to the subspace-tachyon transceivers."_

T'Pol suited her action to Hoshi's suggestion. One of the subsidiary monitors now showed a suited woman and iconic letters behind her spelling out 'ISN'.

"—_riots on Europa. It is believed that the riots are related to the mining strikes on Europa, one of the moons of Jupiter. Police forces are struggling to restore order in the colony. The Alliance Senate is holding an emergency session. It is believed that the emergency session concerns the Europan strikes and riots. ISN is trying to get a reporter in the scene at EarthDome. We are also trying to re-establish our link with Melissa, our reporter on Europa, who has be—"_ The anchorwoman paused as she held up a hand to her ear, listening to something in it. She looked up at the camera before turning to look at something below and offscreen. _"The emergency Senate session has just ended and we have Victor on the scene."_

The scene switched to that of heavy double doors swinging open in the front of the beautiful early 20th-century-built Palace of Nations in Geneva. Several suited men and woman walked out as Senate guards held back the crowd of reporters on the steps. Cameras began to machine-gun them with flashing bulbs.

"_Senator! Senator! Mr. Senator! Ms. Senator! Senator!"_

One of the suited men paused as many microphones and voice recorders were thrust in his face. Camera bulbs were flashing, albeit with less intensity than before. The man had a balding pate above a square face supported by a seemingly too-short neck.

"_Senator Clark, is it true that the emergency session is about the strikes on Europa?"_

"_Well, we are finished here so I can tell you. The strikes are disrupting critical supplies of raw material for the war effort. They are a serious threat to planetary security and it is undermining our patriotic struggle to stop the Minbari advance. We will be working very closely with the President and the Joint Chiefs on this. We are doing everything in our power to insure the safety, survival and well-being of humanity."_

"_What does that mean, Senator?"_

"_Thanks to the patriotic skills and efficiency of Senator Rush, the Senate has passed a bill authorizing military suppression of any and all strikes in the Earth Alliance. We are calling it the Rush Act to honor the senator's tireless work. That's all I can say. Thank you."_

Senator Clark quickly departed as the voices of reporters raised in shouts. _"Are you—sir. Sir! Mr. Senator!"_

"_Sir! Does that mean direct military action, Senator? Sir! Sir!"_

Archer was horrified. T'Pol's lips had the tiniest hint of distaste or disapproval about them. Sheridan was embarrassed. Shran was grimly nodding.

"I understand this," said Shran. "They have done the right thing."

Archer's mouth fell open at the Andorian captain's comment. T'Pol said, "This is illogical. Military action to suppress a strike which may have legitimate grievances will only kill some people and wound many others, thus depriving the Earth Alliance of valuable miners and possible recruits for EarthForce. The Planetary Draft will also be deprived of potential draftees. Furthermore, it will create martyrs for whatever cause the strikes were laboring to advance."

Sheridan felt righteous anger rising in himself. The Rush Act might be rash but this was his own world, his own people this alien was talking about. He felt a need to defend his nation to T'Pol. "What can we do? Senator Clark is right. If those strikes continue, the supplies of material will be disrupted! No more metal and alloys for ships and weapons. That would mean fewer ships and weapons for the war. And that would mean more Minbari victories and faster enemy advances. You know. For want of a nail and all that."

"Negotiators can be sent in to address the miners' complaints instead of armed soldiers. Logically, happy laborers give better results than forced labor."

Although Sheridan agreed with the Vulcan woman, he felt she was invading Earth's sovereignty and therefore didn't have the right to preach about how to handle things. "Forced labor! Now look here—!"

Archer quickly thrust out his hands to forestall a potential interstellar incident on his own ship. "I think we better leave the debate for the diplomats. And to future historians. I must add that I sincerely hope that Europa doesn't become a Kent State, a Tiananmen Square or an Andijan. This is the Earth Alliance's internal affair. We better leave it at that."

Captain Shran said, "I must say again that they have done the right thing. If this happened anywhere in Andorian space in a time of war, it is the government's prerogative to call in the Imperial Guard. Sometimes even in times of peace. Once, there was a factory strike on a frontier colony. As we were quite...shall we say...anxious at the time about the way things stood with the Vulcans, the Imperial Guard simply brought in slaves to work at the factory until the strikers starved themselves back to work." He paused as he let that sink into the humans and T'Pol. "Commander Sheridan, in the interest of our new alliance, might I offer the assistance of the Andorian Imperial Guard to handle the strikes and disorder on Europa?"

"Well, I... Ummm. I think Earth Central will appreciate the gesture, but as Captain Archer pointed out, this is the Earth Alliance's sovereign internal affair. If we were to start bringing in alien soldiers, those riots will quickly become anti-alien riots. That won't be limited to Europa. Anti-alien protests or demonstrations will start popping up across the system, and won't Homeguard just love that!"

"Homeguard?" asked Archer.

"Ah...well, it's quite a lot like your Terra Prime group you've told me about. Crazy anti- alienists. Almost fanatical about their xenophobia."

The Starfleet captain went to close the link to the subspace-tachyon transceivers as he remembered Terra Prime. And the Vulcan-human hybrid child. Elizabeth. He glanced at T'Pol and saw that she was thinking along similar lines.

To break the suddenly, and incomprehensibly to him, uncomfortable silence, Commander Sheridan said, "So... If the Minbari are really going to the Signet System, what help can we expect from you, Captains?"

Archer and Shran exchanged a glance. The Andorian answered first. "The Andorian Imperial Guard will commit the ships it can spare. Counting my own ship, the Tamar, nine warships. We would commit more ships if EarthForce help us directly against the Romulans in Andorian space, of course."

"Of course. I'll see what I can do with my superiors."

It was Archer's turn. "The Starfleet Command Council is gathering a large fleet in my Sol System. When the colonies at Alpha Centauri and Tau Ceti finish adding their ships to the fleet, there will be 40 starships."

"Just 40?" Sheridan almost looked crestfallen. Just two years ago, 30 ships were considered a big fleet. But that was before the Minbari came with their vast fleets, forcing EarthForce to throw together huge numbers of warships in response.

"Well, that's considered a very large and powerful concentration of force in Starfleet. Even the Vulcans would think twice about such a force. The Command Council might be willing to part with half the fleet for Signet. I hear that Admiral Gardner will be the fleet commander. I'll be sure to put in a good word with him."

"Thank you, Captain. Commander T'Pol, isn't there a Vulcan fleet somewhere nearby?"

T'Pol's eyebrows moved to indicate her doubt of the outcome and said, "Yes, there is. It is engaged in negotiations between the Centauri and Narn. I will do what I can to divert the fleet through the Signet System. However, the Vulcan Council has made it a point of policy for all Vulcan ships to avoid direct confrontations with the Minbari, except in self-defense. In other words, do not raise hopes about the fleet."

Sheridan shrugged nonchalantly. "All right. It's a try. I'm curious, T'Pol. What kind of ships are there in that fleet?"

Her eyes momentarily turned blank as she searched her mind for the information. "There are thirteen ships—five combat cruisers and eight support craft, with the Shirasna as the flagship. Specifically, there are four Kir-class combat cruisers in addition to the Shirasna; three Suurok-class heavy cruisers, each carrying six fighters; and five Maymora-class frigates, sometimes called 'dartships' by humans."

Archer whistled. That kind of fleet was enough for the Vulcans to conquer a whole star system! He remembered the time he was an exchange officer on a Maymora-class ship. It may have been a mere frigate, but it could dance around the Enterprise and if they fought, he doubted that his starship could defeat it. It could possibly seriously damage the frigate, though. He remembered Trip's description of the Battle of Regulus between the Andorians and Vulcans. In it, a Kir-class combat cruiser was ordered by Administrator V'Las to open fire on the Enterprise. Just three shots had nearly disabled the NX-class starship.

"I'm impressed," said Shran. He suddenly grinned gleefully. "I remember the Battle of Regulus. It would be...very interesting to see the Vulcans fight a Minbari fleet."

Jonathan Archer agreed. It would be interesting to see two ancient powerful races meet in battle, even though it was a distasteful thought. The presence of Vulcans would help raise the chances of survival for the humans and Andorians. He said, "Even though the Vulcan Council forbade direct confrontations, I hope that fleet will be at Signet."

"Me, too, Jon," said Sheridan. He had seen the Shirasna in action against two Minbari warcruisers at Epsilon 5. "Me too."

**Starfleet Headquarters, San Francisco, United Earth**

It was evening before Admiral George B. Gardner got a chance to talk with the new captain. He spotted her walking down a corridor of Headquarters.

"Captain!"

The human woman was startled, then snapped to attention. "Admiral."

"At ease, Captain. You don't have to do that anymore except in formal meetings with your superiors. I hear that congratulations are in order."

She grinned proudly. "Thank you, sir. The Redeemer is a fine ship. I'll take good care of her."

Gardner rubbed the close-trimmed aristocratic white beard on his face in mock seriousness. "See that you do, Captain Marie Madeleine Plantard. The Redeemer is the ninth of the NX-class. She may be the last, too."

Marie was surprised. "The last, sir?"

"Yes, Marie. It is too big, too expensive and too time-consuming for Starfleet to build effectively in this war. We're transferring all personnel involved in the construction of the NX-class to the Daedalus Project, including the designer, Captain Jefferies. We're even converting the NX shipyard for the next class of starship."

"The Daedalus Project... I've heard rumors about that. Supposed to be smaller than the NX, just as fast or even faster, has all the latest technologies and weapons in Starfleet, and EarthForce, too. Warp capability plus jump capability. Is that true?"

A finger wagged good-humorously. "Now, Captain, I can't say anything."

"Yes, sir."

"Now, have you gotten your assignment yet?"

"Yes, sir. I'm to join my ship to the Sol Fleet you've got building up. I'm to coordinate with Captain Stiles of the Heisenberg and Captain Hernandez of the Columbia. Sir, what about the Challenger and the Atlantis?"

"They're assigned to the Front at Qualor Sector. It wouldn't do to pull enough ships away for the Romulans to break through, eh?"

"Yes, sir. Admiral, if I may ask... There are rumors about the Sol Fleet either going to the Romulan Front or through the Quantum Gate to fight the Minbari. Which is it?"

Admiral Gardner stood silently, giving Marie no hint with his expression. After a while, she began to fidget nervously under the admiral's silent gaze.

"Sir?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure. Maybe we will divide the fleet between the two wars. Maybe all of it will go. It's up to the Command Council. Which reminds me: I must go. Again, Captain Plantard, congratulations on your promotion and your command of the Redeemer. May you and your ship someday redeem peace for us."

"Thank you, Admiral."

xxxxxxxx

The Command Council chamber was empty when Gardner walked through the double door. It was quite as empty as he thought when he looked around: there was one man in the chamber that had come in before him. General Casey of the Military Assault Command Operation. Otherwise known as the MACOs head.

"General."

"Admiral."

Casey glanced out at the lights of San Francisco Bay shining in the night through one of the circular windows of the chamber. "Nice night for a meeting. You'd think there's no war on."

"Yes. I remember when the Xindi attacked Earth, many cities decided to black out their lights for several nights afterward, fearing another attack from the sky."

The general made a face as if the admiral ruined his thoughts of nightly peace. "Have you chosen the leader of the MACOs for the Sol Fleet?"

"I'm still going over the list."

"Let me save you the effort." General Casey picked up one of the datapads he had piled at his seating position and slid it over the table to Admiral Gardner.

Since the admiral was standing, he couldn't quite see the scroll of words down a side of a photograph. The photograph was that of a man with the looks of an aristocrat, even a classic Roman. A strong nose, a face that was approaching the state of being long but mercifully stopped short of it, dark brown hair curled tightly on the head. It was a face that could have graced any of the Roman busts on exhibit in Florence's Uffizi Museum.

The general supplied the name. "Colonel Georges Emilé Picard."

Gardner's black eyebrow climbed toward his close-cropped white hair. "Picard? Of Chateau Picard, the wine?"

"The same. The colonel was trained at both West Point and the European Academy. He knows his way around ship-board fights and planet-bound battles. I think there's no man better than him for the Sol Fleet."

The admiral's eyebrows climbed once more. General Casey was not prone to high praises. A very select few MACOs received such praises. As Gardner recalled, one of them was the late Major Hayes of the Enterprise in the Delphic Conflict. He wondered why Casey was giving him Colonel Picard now rather than later in Council. "You think the various MACO teams on the ships will follow him?"

Casey smiled tolerantly. "Picard may not be widely known in Starfleet Command. Among the MACOs, he's known as 'Emmie' or 'Em'."

Gardner's lips twitched at the nickname.

Casey caught it. "In spite of what you might think of that name and in spite of his upbringing in a chateau, he's a hard man. The MACOs keep the military tradition of Old Earth. What that means, Admiral, is that soldiers might like a commander who takes it easy on them, who spoils them, but they wouldn't trust him to lead them to victory in battle. A man who drives them hard will be trusted to lead them to victory and he will be loved for that."

"All right, you've convinced me. He's the fleet MACO leader." With that, Gardner took out a datapad from his own pile and pressed a command erasing the list of candidates to lead the MACOs of Sol Fleet. "Thank you, General."

"You won't regret it, George." The general paused to stress his next sentence. "Let me add this: Colonel Picard has taken to heart the ancient writer Flavius Josephus' description of the Roman army in his 'Jewish War': 'For the Romans, a drill is a battle, and a battle is a drill.'"

The admiral wasn't quite sure how to take Josephus' words. Casey's smile stretched wider with mischievous humor. "In other words, Admiral, don't be alarmed if MACOs start showing up at Sickbays throughout the fleet. It'll just mean they're practicing."

xxxxxxxx

The President attended this session of the Command Council, as he had many times over the course of the war. Christopher Thorpe took his seat at the head of the table with two of his Ministers flanking him. The Vulcan Ambassador Soval sat with the President and the Ministers of Defense and State. Various admirals, including Black, Molotov among others took their seats with Admiral Gardner and General Casey.

"Before we can begin," said the President, "I would like to say that this Command Council has been quite effective in pursuing the theater of war. Unfortunately, it is not enough."

Gardner frowned. Politicians rarely did what military commanders thought was best. War is best left out of the hands of politicians. Witness the disaster at Qualor II. Politicians had thought it was best for Qualor's defense fleet to undergo drills and then the Romulans slipped through with their atomic weapons! Thank God, it was just a raiding force, not an invasion! What was President Thorpe up to this time?

Thorpe continued, "In spite of our efforts to coordinate with our allies, there are disparate strategies. Sometimes they conflict. No offense, ladies and gentlemen, but, as long as we remain in this fashion, I do not see us successfully ending the war against either the Romulans or Minbari."

Expressions of offense, barely hidden dismay, and interested curiosity rippled around the table.

"As of now, I am going to steal an idea from Earth's Second World War and pursue a policy of merging the military commands of the Coalition worlds involved in the war into a Supreme Command. I have ordered our ambassadors and envoys to start persuading the other Coalition governments, especially Andoria and Tellar." President Thorpe nodded to Ambassador Soval. "I have enlisted the assistance of the Vulcan Diplomatic Corps in this matter. I feel confident that the Earth Alliance will agree to a Supreme Command coordinating all alliances involved in fighting the Minbari and Romulans."

Admiral Gardner spoke up in the ensuing thoughtful silence. "Mr. President, that may be a good idea and if we are in either the Second or Third World War, I would completely agree and endorse it. But the times are different. The distances are much greater. The psychologies are now very diverse. The Andorians and Tellarites could hardly go a day without insulting each other and playing the blame game. The same is true for the Andorians and Vulcans." Here, he raised his fingers to forestall a protest that was not forthcoming from Ambassador Soval who merely raised an eyebrow. "Furthermore, there is a strong strain of suspicion of aliens in the Earth Alliance. It is only the fact that we are human that EarthForce is so willing to work with Starfleet. Mr. President, what is to prevent this Supreme Command of yours from dissolving into childish brawls? Brawls that might spill out to become interplanetary war between members of the Coalition itself? What's more, what is to prevent such a Supreme Command from making disastrous mistakes? Somehow, I doubt the colonies and homeworlds close to the Front will take kindly to that."

Christopher Thorpe looked around the table, saying, "I agree that the risks are much greater. By that same measure, the potential gains are great. Everyone involved will have much to gain by this. I do not need to remind you of the successful coordination made between Starfleet, Vulcan, Andoria and Tellar against the Romulan marauders before the war began. Without such coordination, the marauders would have achieved their goal: to incite interplanetary war between the worlds. I believe such a strategic coordination will be good for the Coalition."

"'Strategic coordination,'" repeated Gardner. "I must commend you on your choice of words. Creating military strategies is a very intricate undertaking, especially for politicians." A flicker went through Defense Minister Samantha Clark's face as the admiral softly emphasized the last word. "I am sure that the Andorians and Tellarites each have their own established overall strategy. Strategies that conflict with each other's and ours, I might add."

Minister Samantha opened her mouth angrily and was stopped by Thorpe's touching her hand on the table. She took a breath, then said, "If you were to lead the Supreme Command and all the other aliens were...more like humans, as you seem to want, what kind of overall strategy would you make?"

What was the Minister of Defense getting at? Admiral Gardner turned to Samantha, giving her all his attention as if she was aiming a phase-pistol at him. "I would follow the old adage 'offense is the best defense' and have the Coalition of Planets attack in three directions, with three stages for the overall strategy. It could work against either the Romulans or the Minbari, but I know more about the Romulans than the Minbari, so I'll use them here for now." He held up three fingers. "I would concentrate the disparate forces into three fleets. The main fleet, like the Sol Fleet here for example, would move straight through the Iron Triangle, with the Cheron System as its destination in mind."

The Iron Triangle was the main theater of the war in a space contained in a triangle with the line going from Deneva to Galorndon to Andoria and back to Deneva. Gardner used his other hand to push down the first of the three fingers as he explained. "The second fleet, the Andorian Imperial Guard if you will, will recover the Gamma Virginis System to boost the Andorian morale, of course. After that, it will try to push into the Romulan Empire itself." The second finger went down. "The third fleet will move from the Qualor Sector to outflank the Front. It will—"

Minister Samantha interrupted. "Excuse me, but what will that serve? Beside going behind the enemy lines and hitting them in the back, of course."

Gardner's smile almost became a sneer, but he had the eyes of the entire Command Council on him. "In the old United States, during the American Civil War, a congressman from New York, Roscoe Conkling, said, 'War is not a question of valor, but a question of money. It is not regulated by the laws of honor, but by the laws of trade. I understand the practical problem to be solved in crushing the rebellion of despotism against representative government is who can throw the most projectiles? Who can afford the most iron or lead?' While I don't agree with the congressman's opinion of war, the basic point is sound."

"Interesting that you should use the words of a politician to illustrate your strategy," threw in Samantha Clark.

Gardner ignored her. "The flanking move will cut the Romulans off from the weapons market on Minos. Once that's done, the Minosians will be forced to need our money for their so-called 'Arsenal of Freedom'. It will also serve to keep the Romulans from ever reaching Coridan and Rigel." The third finger went down, then all three fingers went back up.

"Now, as for the stages, I haven't thought them through, yet. Anyway, here they are: One, harass and raid enemy outposts and bases. The third fleet's flanking movement can be used to draw enemy forces away from the main lines to give the harassment greater success. Two, clear out enemy patrols. That will require running fights. It would be costly. Three, invade the Romulan Empire itself. That'll make them wet themselves and sue for peace." The fingers went down at each point, then Gardner shrugged at the Command Council. "That's what I would do if I'm leading the whole Coalition. Plus, that's if we have the resources to change the war from the desperately defensive one it is to an offensive war. Which we don't."

The admiral turned to Samantha, expecting a properly chagrined, and perhaps even an awestruck look, on her face. Instead, she was beaming widely. Confused, Gardner looked to the President who was also smiling. Thorpe then exchanged looks with Samantha and the State Minister, giving them questioning eyebrows. They nodded to whatever unvoiced question the President was asking.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the Command Council," said the President, holding a hand out toward Admiral Gardner. "I give you Starfleet's very first Fleet Admiral and our new Commander-in-Chief of the United Earth armed forces."

Gardner's eyes bulged. So this was what Thorpe and Samantha were up to! They must have cooked this up before coming to this meeting! He glared at the Minister of Defense. She had set the trap and sprung it on him, humiliating him in front of the entire Command Council. He saw General Casey smiling and looking at him from under his brow, putting a finger to the side of his nose. Even the general knew! That was why he practically shoved Colonel Picard down his throat. That witch of a minister must have wrapped him around her finger.

President Thorpe had yet to deliver his coup de grace, though. "Furthermore, my friends, if my negotiations with the other Coalition governments succeed, you will also be looking at your Supreme Commander of the Coalition Forces."

The indicated admiral had to force himself to smile as the Command Council applauded his sudden promotion. Ambassador Soval bowed to Gardner in lieu of applause. He was feeling very put on the spot. He had opposed the Supreme Command idea and he was put in it! It was either the biggest career move for him or the biggest blow to his career. He could feel his face heating up.

The thought occurred to him that he could use his new position to advantage. Before Gardner could follow that train of thought, his attention was distracted by the voice of the President.

Christopher Thorpe looked down at the notes in his datapads. "Now to business: the Minbari War. I have reports from Captain Jonathan Archer of the Enterprise about the likelihood of a battle at a place called the Signet System..."

**Excerpts from a letter by Fleet Admiral George B. Gardner to his wife, Lucia Bonfim**

"_I find myself in a new and strange position here. President, Council, General Casey and all deferring to me. By some strange operation of Fate, I seem to have become the power in the Coalition. I almost think that if I won a small success now, I would become Dictator, or anything else that might please— But nothing of the kind would please me, therefore I won't be Dictator. Admirable self-denial!"_

"_I am becoming daily more disgusted with those politicians. They are despicable... Samantha is a meddling officious incompetent little witch... The President is nothing more than a well-meaning baboon... Could he be the 'missing link' so long looked for in human evolution?"_


	11. Approach of Victory

_Agent-G: If you compared the stated sizes of the NX and Daedalus, you'll find the Daedalus is smaller than the NX. It makes sense in a way. In a major war where we're desperate about our defenses, we wouldn't waste time building huge battleships, though cool they might be. We'd be focusing on building smaller cruisers, destroyers and gunboats. They might not give as much punch as battleships but the number of them would compensate well enough._

_The Sithspawn: Having Picard in the Earth-Romulan War is actually canon. In TNG'sCaptain Picard's family album, you can see 'Major General Georges E. Picard' in an article about the signing of the Federation Charter. I then thought it'd be a nice counterpoint to have the captain's ancestor in this war. Perhaps you have not noticed but there are several other ancestors in this story: Captain Emily Stiles (of the Heisenberg) andCommander Paul Stiles (of the Enterprise)are ancestors of Andrew Stiles in "Balance of Terror"; Ambassador Solkar and his son Commander Skon are ancestors of Spock--(Spock, son of Sarek, son of Skon, son of Solkar)_

_Worker72: I will deal with the Vorlon factor soon enough. ;) Senator Clark will show up again._

On with the show!

_

* * *

_

_At what point shall we expect the approach of danger? By what means shall we fortify against it? Shall we expect some transatlantic military giant, to step the Ocean, and crush us at a blow? Never! All the armies of Europe, Asia and Africa combined, with all the treasure of the earth...could not by force, take a drink from the Ohio, or make a track on the Blue Ridge, in a trial of a thousand years... If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide._

--Abraham Lincoln, 1938

Fleet Admiral George B. Gardner could see the Sol Fleet arrayed in the orbit of Mars. He felt a pride in such a large force of starships as he watched the viewer in his office at Starfleet Headquarters. Forty starships made up the Sol Fleet, which included four NX-class starships. No other fleet had such a concentration of power. The other five NX's were dispersed among various fleets at the Romulan Front. Due to their high value, each of the four NX-class starships was flanked by two Neptune-class vessels. The other Neptunes supplemented the NW-class ships, including the Intrepid, and the NC-class corvettes in the fleet, including the Sarajevo-NC-27. The Romulans would find this fleet a very hard nut to crack.

It was almost sad to split the fleet because of the Minbari.

"Commander Leonard, open a channel to all ships in the fleet," ordered Gardner.

The commander nodded and worked the control panel beside the viewer. "Channel is open, Admiral."

Gardner tugged down his uniform to present a more dignified himself. "This is the Fleet Admiral George B. Gardner. We have received intelligence that the Minbari are making their way to the Earth Alliance star system Signet. It would have benefited our ally, the Earth Alliance, if the whole of the Sol Fleet was sent to Signet to stop the Minbari in their advance. Unfortunately, realism prevents that. We need to keep our Solar System safe and secure. Nevertheless, I need sixteen starships to join the Enterprise for the Signet System. I cannot choose any of you nor can I, with good conscience, order you to fight what is still largely an unknown enemy. Proud ships of the Sol Fleet, I am asking for volunteers."

Captain Erika Hernandez of the UES Columbia was surprised. The new Fleet Admiral wanted elements of the fleet to _volunteer_?

Admiral Gardner inclined his head with respect in the main viewer. _"If you want to volunteer for the expedition, send a signal to me. I will be waiting here."_ The link to Earth was cut.

Commander Charles Tucker III said cynically, "Volunteer. Huh."

Erika looked up at her chief engineer from her command chair. "What do you think, Trip? Do we volunteer?"

A surprised laugh came from Trip. "You askin' me? You're the captain here."

She smiled. "I know you still feel some loyalty to Captain Archer." Erika glanced pointedly at the main viewer which was now showing Mars and the rift gate made tiny by distance beyond the red planet. "And I owe him a lot."

Trip was also looking at the main viewer. Ever since the Enterprise entered the other universe, the almost subliminal bond he had with T'Pol was absent. On one hand, he felt relieved and glad about that. Strangely, on the other hand, he missed the bond. He had gotten used to having T'Pol in his head, and he had used the presence as reassurance that the Enterprise still existed and her crew was still alive.

He and Erika finally looked at each other. They nodded. The captain gestured for the Columbia's communications officer to signal Fleet Admiral Gardner.

Captain Emily Stiles of the UES Heisenberg crossed her legs at the conclusion of Gardner's speech, keeping the image of the Fleet Admiral alive in her mind. She pressed her lips hard together. She would have preferred Gardner to give orders, but what he just said was effectively an order anyway.

"Skon?"

The Vulcan chief engineer of the Heisenberg arched an eyebrow. "I assume, Captain, that you are asking for my opinion. You already know it: that the war with the Minbari is illogical. The war with the Romulans requires our full attention and resources. The Minbari attempt at genocide is distasteful, yet the Romulans are no less intent."

Emily touched her hair, making sure that all strands were firmly held in her bun. "I agree, Commander. If we volunteer, our Neptune escorts will automatically go with us. Many in our crew and on those ships are still wet behind the ears. They need experience to build confidence in their performance. If we stay, many, if not most, of them will be killed by the Romulans. Their families at Alpha Centauri wouldn't like that, of course. I've read the reports on the Minbari. They have powerful ships, but they do not have shield technology nor do they seem to have the ability to polarize their hulls. That means the fight is already in our favor, Skon."

"Perhaps. As you said, the Minbari do have powerful warships."

"Just like the Romulans. Except that _they_ have both shields and hull polarization. The Minbari could provide the experience that the newbies need."

An arched eyebrow was the only response from Skon.

"Besides," Emily continued, "the chief engineer of the Enterprise is my nephew. The Stiles family is a close family. I am thereby obliged to Paulie." With that, the captain ordered her communications officer to signal the Fleet Admiral.

"That is...," said Skon carefully, "illogical."

Captain Emily Stiles looked at the Vulcan from under her brow, giving him her own arched eyebrow. "Who said that war is logical?"

Captain Marie Madeleine Plantard of the UES Redeemer studied the view of Mars and the interdimensional rift in her office window, having heard Admiral Gardner's speech on her computer screen. A finger gently tapped her lips. Should she volunteer her ship?

She had once made a vow to fight the Romulans and the Plantard family did not make promises lightly. Marie's eyes drifted on their own accord to the framed painting hanging in her office. It was a copy, of course. The 17th century original now hung in her rebuilt family home at Chateau Barberie near the city of Nevers in France. It was "Les Bergers d'Arcadie" by Nicolas Poussin. In the foreground of the painting, three shepherds and a shepherdess were gathered around a large ancient stone tomb, contemplating the Latin words inscribed in the weathered stone: "ET IN ARCADIA EGO."

'And in Arcadia, I...'

Marie thought it was wonderfully elegiac--Death announcing his somber presence even in the paradise of Arcadia. The missing verb meant the inscription precluded all tense, all indication of past, present, or future, thereby implying something eternal.

The knowledge of the anagram in the painting made her smile softly. It, as usual, helped her decision. She would follow her vow to fight the Romulans until the war's end. The Redeemer would stay.

xxxxxxx

A stylus went down a list in a datapad and pressed down at the bottom, indicating approval. Colonel Georges Emilé Picard set the datapad on top of a clear panel in his desk. The panel glow softly to indicate a download from the pad in progress. He scratched his dark brown curly hair, pondering the upcoming battle at Signet System in the other universe.

The doorchime ranged.

"Come."

A man in MACO uniform strode into Emmie Picard's office.

"Ah, Colonel Alford. Just in time."

Alford came to stand in front of Picard's desk, hands clasped at the back and eyes staring straight above the seated colonel's head. "Yes, sir." Alford knew about Emmie's reputation for strict military protocols even if those protocols were disastrous in the last world war.

"Colonel Benjamin Alford," began Colonel Picard without preamble, "sixteen ships from the Sol System will crossover to fight the Minbari. I'm sending MACO troops along with the ships to help the EarthForce marines. GROPOs, I believed they're called. Colonel, you are to command the MACOs on the sub-fleet."

"Yes, sir. Sir, if I may ask..."

Colonel Picard nodded his permission.

"Sir, I've read the files on the GROPOs and the Minbari. They need more MACOs than sixteen ships can carry."

Picard was glad of his choice of Alford. This was someone who would follow orders, but not blindly. He picked up another datapad and slid it forward to the standing colonel. "That's why I'm commandeering the service of a J-class cargo ship. The ECS Horizon will act as a troop transport. Its cargo pods have already been replaced with modified EarthForce dropships that have barrack facilities. You will be able to put 500 MACOs on the transport."

Raised eyebrows were the only expression on Alford's face. His respect for Picard grew. "Thank you, sir. That will mean a lot for me and EarthForce."

Picard solemnly acknowledged, knowing it already. He had already convinced Fleet Admiral Gardner and the Command Council to begin recruiting other Earth cargo ships to convert into armed troop transports for both wars against the Romulans and Minbari. He had toyed with the idea until his promotion to the Sol Fleet made it practicable.

"Colonel, if I may ask again...?"

Again, Picard granted his permission.

"Why doesn't the Sol Fleet cross over? The Minbari would be no match for it."

"In ideal conditions, that could be done. But these are not ideal conditions. Admiral Gardner will take the rest of the fleet to clean up the surrounding sectors. Soon, there will be no more annoying pirates."

Alford smiled, still staring over Picard's head. The war seemed to be turning for the better now. It was thanks to President Thorpe's choice of Gardner as Starfleet's first Fleet Admiral, and thanks to contact with the Earth Alliance. He knew that some of the MACOs wouldn't like the idea of slipping out of the war with the Romulans, but the Minbari were just as dangerous. The Earth Alliance was a cousin of the United Nations and Colonies of Earth. Besides, Colonel Picard was well known among the MACOs and orders from him would be respected. Alford nodded, saying, "Yes, sir."

"That will be all, Colonel."

Relaxing, Alford finally looked directly at Picard. "Colonel, the Minbari will get a good fight. We'll make it one for the history books."

The seated colonel nodded his respect for Alford. "I know you will, Colonel." He then focused on his reports, clearly dismissing Alford without a word.

The other colonel nodded once more and took his leave.

**Nostromo, Minbari forward base of operations**

A shuttle flew smoothly up from the Minbari forward command-and-control post on a moon around the system's sole gas giant. The shuttle soon entered a Shargotti-class warcruiser hanging in the midst of 180 Sharlin warcruisers.

Shai Alyt Morzat looked up from his conversation with other ship commanders, hearing the approach of another Minbari. The footfalls were those of a man very sure of himself. The man soon turned a corner and Morzat bowed with the others, recognizing him.

It was Warleader Branmer.

When the fleet leaders stood straight again, Morzat had to hide his awe of the warleader. Branmer had been of the Religious Caste until the news of Dukhat's murder came to Minbar. Swept up in the species-wide fury over the murder, Branmer had found the calling of the Warrior Caste.

Initial doubts about his ability was quickly banished as he established a reputation as a shrewd strategician and a pious killer utterly untroubled by the likelihood of death. Branmer had quickly risen to become Warleader of the Minbari people. Morzat could see the light of zeal burning in his eyes.

Some would think him mad. Others worried that his religious certitude would cloud his judgment. Fanaticism was a kind of madness and could be dangerous, Morzat knew, but as long as it was directed against the vile humans, the warleader deserved respect.

"Comrades," began Branmer, "I see that we are ready to advance into the star system the humans call Signet. What I also see is..." He looked around at the Minbari ship and fleet commanders gathered on Branmer's flagship. The warleader was satisfied to see that they were as equally sure of victory over the Earthers and their alien mercenaries as he was. "This fleet of Minbar is composed of the best material that ever made up a fleet. The enemy alliance is an alliance of mongrels--the degraded, beastly outscoring of the galaxy--which will pay for their defiance of our holy justice for Dukhat's murder. We are resolved to strike at the heart of the enemy at all and every Minbari hazard. The filthy ships of the unclean savages must and will be purified by fire. Our people can win. We _will_ win. The aliens that Earth has hired against us cannot prevent that. The just indignation of an outraged and deeply injured people will teach the humans to retrace their journeys back to Earth more rapidly than their expansion."

Branmer was indeed proud of the fleet that has mustered at his behest in the name of the Grey Council. The Minbari war machine was an army of Valen as well as of Minbar and the great Dukhat. If the old gods still existed, they would surely bless this fleet and bestow victory upon them all as usual.

"You know your orders. As soon as you return to your ships, we will jump into hyperspace and on to Signet!"

The commanders bowed deeply from the waist as one to Warleader Branmer who then gave a smaller bow in response.

xxxxxxxx

When Branmer's fleet jumped into hyperspace, another fleet, though much smaller but no less powerful for that, observed its passage in hyperspace. The thunder and lightning of hyperspace revealed a Shargotti with four Sharlins and six Tinashis. The Shargotti was the Grey Council ship, the Valen'tha.

In the center of the Valen'tha, crystal diamonds moved sedately in their hovering circle in the dim heights of the dark council chamber. Nine pillars of light lit the nine rulers of Minbar.

"Branmer's fleet has jumped, but they do not see us," said one of the grey-robed Nine.

"As it should be," said Satai Hedronn.

Satai Morann nodded in agreement, but his eyes went to Delenn, catching her expression. "Satai Delenn, you do not seem sure of our inevitable victory in this particular battle."

The young Minbari woman cursed herself for not hiding her thoughts better. Temple education, however, had taught her that if one happened to trip and fall into mud, he must make it appear as if it was done on purpose. "You see well, Satai Morann. A thousand years ago, we fought the Shadows and, with Valen's guidance, won."

Morann rolled his eyes, muttering to himself, "Not that myth again."

"We fought the Garmak Empire and won," Delenn continued, "We fought the Wen'Dan Hordes and won. The Streibs dared to strike at our borders and we taught them the error of their ways. Each time, we fought against one enemy. Against the Shadows, we had an alliance of worlds behind us. The Vorlon Empire stood behind us. Against the Wen'Dan, the Garmak and the Streibs, we were alone. In each war, our enemy was alone against us. Only the Shadows threw an alliance of their servants at us. Today, the Earthers are our enemy. And this time, the Earthers have gathered an alliance of worlds against us."

"We will defeat them," retorted Morann.

"Perhaps," said Delenn. She nearly choked on a sentimental memory but forced herself to reveal it. "Before I joined as one of the Nine, I was an acolyte and Dukhat's aide. Under his guidance, I studied all the races in Known Space. I came to the conclusion that the humans are the most dangerous of all the races."

Morann snorted. "Dangerous, yes. The savages killed Dukhat and we would be right to remove the danger from the galaxy."

"That was not the reason for my conclusion, Satai. The humans have shown a talent that is unique among the younger races. They build communities out of disparate elements. Before they appeared, each of the races would go their own separate ways, rarely banding together only to defend against a greater threat. The humans have the ability to align worlds together in both war and peace. We are seeing proof of that now. The Earthers have found at least three unknown alien races to support them. Alien races that we do not know nor do we have in our extensive records."

"All the more reason for us to remove the Earthers!" Morann looked around the council. He was troubled to see that Delenn's words were having an effect on the other Priests, the Workers, and even his fellow Warriors, Hedronn and Coplann. "No one since the time of Valen has ever been able to defeat us. Only the First Ones can, and they have not walked openly since Valen's time. These aliens that Earth found are most assuredly not First Ones so we will defeat them, as we have defeated the Garmaks, the Wen'Dans and the Streibs."

Delenn gazed at Morann for a while, then raised an arm up at the darkness beyond the council circle. Her mental command brought the holodisplay to life all around the Grey Council.

"Watch."

The holodisplay showed the strange human saucer vessel, the Enterprise. Its agility allowed it to dodge weapons fire from both the Valen'tha and Ingata, and to return fire.

"Did we win that fight?"

Soon, the frighteningly alien and advanced Vulcan ship, the Shirasna, arrived and joined the fight against the Minbari.

"And that?"

The holodisplay shifted to show the Vulcan fleet of thirteen ships meeting a Centauri Primus battlecruiser. A Vulcan dartship swiftly moved, separating itself from the fleet to eliminate the small Ranger Shu'nali-class ship, a sister of another ship called the Liandra.

"And that?"

The holodisplay shifted again. Against the background of a nebula glittering with the colors of opals, the Andorian ship, the Tamar, launching its combat drones and throwing its energy weapons at another warcruiser, crippling it. The bright flash of a Minbari missile ended the battle. Shortly after, the warcruiser shattered in suicidal fire.

"And that?"

The holodisplay shifted once more. Two Tinashi-class warcruisers launched their fighters as they pursued another Vulcan ship. The tiny ship, clearly of an entirely another class, outran them and escaped into a jumpgate.

"And--"

"All right, all right, we get your point," Morann said angrily and impatiently.

Another voice joined the discussion. It was Satai Coplann. "It is true that we do not know enough about the new aliens. It is indeed troubling that they were able to resist us. It is also troubling that our efforts to capture one of their vessels for interrogation and study has failed."

At that, the Grey Council nervously glanced back up at the holodisplay. It had frozen itself, showing separate images of each of the new aliens' vessels. One of them in particular attracted their momentary attention: the Andorian warship.

Hedronn looked sharply at Morann, stopping his open mouth from uttering a protest. "It is perhaps prudent that we do not underestimate the new aliens."

Hope rose once more within Delenn. "Will we make peaceful contact with them? To learn about them without costing us more lives?"

"No," said Hedronn, dashing her hope once more. "We are already at war with them. If we attempt to contact them, they will open fire without hesitation. Death, in that instance, will become meaningless. Also, if we try to talk after they have harmed our ships, we will appear weak to the other races. The younger races will then begin to probe our space, hoping to take bites of our territory. That cannot be allowed. We will pursue this war to its end, however and whenever it may come."

Looks of agreement passed around the circle. Even Delenn had to admit Hedronn's logic.

Satai Hedronn bowed his head, saying, "It is decided, then. We will summon all the ships that are in range and divert them to the Signet System."

"But," pointed out Coplann, "they will not reach the system in time for the battle there."

"That is true. It is nevertheless an action that we can set in motion."

Delenn knew that their motion has brought them to a crossroads. She silently hoped that the path chosen here wouldn't lead them all down to a disastrous end.

**UES Enterprise NX-01, Earth Alliance Sol System**

The main screen in the starship's command center was showing the event horizon of the quantum gate between the universes. Out of it came ships from the other side.

"Captain Archer, the Earth Alliance thanks you for this," said the human in the uniform of an EarthForce general."

"General Vargas, I'm sorry I couldn't convince Starfleet Command to send more ships."

"No, no, no. With the Enterprise included, seventeen ships are a hell lot more than what the League Worlds have ever done for us." Getulio Vargas' face darkened. "Since the Dilgar War, we have _mutual_ defense treaties with most of the members of the League of Non-Aligned Worlds. At least, we had them until the Minbari came. I suppose I can't blame them for being frightened by their power. Still, we had treaties and they were supposed to honor them!"

In the viewscreen, a rustic-looking J-class cargo ship appeared out of the rift among the Starfleet vessels. The troop transport sent by Colonel Picard. Uncomfortable about what the general said, Archer said, "I don't know about that... It's not my business, but sometimes irrational actions come at inconvenient times. When we were attacked by a species bent on genocide, the Vulcans who were supposed to be our mentor and ally didn't lift a finger to help against the Xindi."

The EarthForce general was surprised. "The Vulcans? The elves who are now at war with the Minbari?"

Archer's lips twitched in amusement. Elves. He would like to see T'Pol's reaction to that comparison. "Yes. The very same. But look there...you can see we're not the only ally you have."

It was true, for now in the screen, Andorian warships began to appear.

The two men visually counted until the last warship coasted out of the rift.

"Eight," pronounced Vargas. "That makes nine with Captain Shran's ship. Not much but a hell lot more than the League have ever done."

"Wait, I think there's more," said Archer. Ghostly shapes of vessels had appeared in the maw of the rift. Soon, he was surprised at their solidifying appearance. Vaguely having the shape of Earth tadpoles, the new arrivals had engines piled at their narrow rear. "Tellarites?"

"Looks like your speculation was right, Captain." Vargas was now very happy. "That's another alien race added to our roster of allies!"

"Yes, but Tellarites tend to be more concerned about their own homeworld and colonies. They're being very quick to come here. I guess their concerns also extend to counterparts of their homeworld."

General Vargas watched the viewscreen with Archer as more Tellarite ships poured into his universe. Almost absentmindedly, he asked, "Before your war with the Romulans began, where were you?"

"Hmm? Oh, I was here. On the Enterprise, I mean. We were exploring when news of the attack on Station Salem One came. When we got to the Tarod System, all we found were...twisted metal debris and bodies. Soon after, the Earth General Assembly broadcasted a declaration of war against the Romulans."

"Ah... I was the EarthForce liaison at a PsiCorps education center in Amiento, Brazil. We heard about Jankowski's encounter, of course. We had believed him about meeting some hostiles and assumed that was the end of it. Then the Minbari destroyed Jankowski's fleet base at the Jericho System."

The captain and the general fell silent, immersed in their own somber thoughts and memories.

For General Vargas, there was almost no hope of successfully fighting the Minbari. After the destruction of the base at Jericho, the invading Minbari swept through the outer colonies and outposts into the Earth Alliance. Vega, Delphi, Kandhi and Deneb. Wherever they passed, the Minbari left a trail of blood, death, and carnage in their wake.

He hoped that the upcoming battle at Signet would arrest the Minbari advance.

The door to the dim command center slid open, admitting Travis Mayweather and Colonel Alford.

The starship chief helmsman handed a datapad to Archer, and said, "Sir, that cargo ship is the Horizon, isn't it?"

The captain smiled, anticipating Travis' wish. "Yes, it is, Ensign. You can visit your brother. We'll call you when it's time to go."

"Thank you, sir!"

"Ah, _familia_," sighed Vargas. "They do make everything seem bearable."

"Yes, they do," said Archer neutrally. All the family he had now was the people on the Enterprise. He had no sibling and his parents were now long dead. Sometimes it was hard to live without a family for support, but he was fortunate to have friends on his ship. He looked at the datapad which contained a list of ships in the Starfleet task force. The Columbia and the Heisenberg were the two NX-class starships in the fleet, accompanied by seven Neptune-class escorts, three NW-class ships and four NC-class corvettes. As per Starfleet regulations, two of the Neptunes, the Neptune and the Shenandoah, were assigned to flank and guard the Enterprise for the battle. The NC corvettes, which included the Sarajevo, would handle the Minbari fighters with a Neptune ship in the lead. The Neptune escorts would also handle any fighters and small enemy vessels that came within range of the NX ship.

Archer was impressed with the some of the ships' names. The three NW-class ships were the Saratoga, the Intrepid, and the Republic. They were the premier ships of their class, veterans of combat with the space pirates, the Xindi, Klingons, and Romulans. "The Minbari are going get the best greeting that Starfleet could offer. And these dropships on the Horizon... Almost five hundred MACOs."

"Yes, sir," said Colonel Alford. "But we don't have an army. It takes a long time to make an army. We only have the MACOs and the Andorian soldiers in the fleet and the GROPOs on the planet. If the Minbari land on Signet 4..."

"That's true," Archer answered, "but we will make sure the Minbari do not make a landing."

General Vargas looked over Archer's shoulder at the list. "I will make modifications to the battle plans for Signet to incorporate those ships." Noticing the names of crewmen and their origin, he said, "Captain, you have a colony at Alpha Centauri?"

"Yes, General. Three inhabited worlds: the Toliman Colony, Velestus and Kent."

"Yet another difference between the two Earths." Seeing a questioning look on the captain and the colonel, Vargas added, "We have a colony on Proxima 3. Proxima Centauri 3 to you. We do have a small holding in the Alpha System, but it's little more than a science outpost. The hyperspace gravity echoes of the two suns and their planets are making hyperspace travel too difficult in the system. Now that we have you to help us, maybe one day the Earth Alliance could finally truly explore and colonize the system...?"

"When this war is over," offered Archer with a smile, "Starfleet can help you with that." He looked back at the datapad. "Strange..."

"What is?" asked Alford.

"Almost all of the new crewmembers are Centauran."

The MACO colonel shrugged. "A coincidence."

"Yes... A coincidence."

**From the diary of Gunnery Sergeant David McIntyre, officer on the EAS Prometheus**

"_It begins to look more like a war than a slaughter and we shall probably have a chance to meet the Minbari very soon. Well, I hope we shall be successful and give the boneheads a good pounding."_

**UES Columbia NX-02**

A murmur of excitement filled the cafeteria almost to bursting. Jeffrey Sinclair at his lunch as he watched the stars change direction in the windows. The starship was separating itself from the fleet and orienting itself to go to Earth. Captain Erika Hernandez was being generous enough to go the distance to drop Sinclair off at Earth Central.

Through the windows, he could see one more vessel exit the quantum rift.

A shadow fell upon Sinclair. Startled, he looked up to see a corpulent human man.

"Ah, Doctor...Lucas, is it?"

Doctor Jeremy Lucas nodded at the windows while holding a tray of food. "That's a Rigellian scoutship. May I sit?"

At a gesture from the EarthForce fighter pilot, he sat and began to eat.

Jeffrey Sinclair was still unfamiliar with the other universe. He had gone over the list of Coalition member races, but that was all. "Doctor, who are the Rigellians? By that name, am I right to assume they're from the star system of Rigel?"

"Yes. That's a bit complicating... You see, Rigel has more than one homeworld for different species. The Rigellians that are on that scoutship we just saw are the vulcanoid type from Rigel V. Other planets are either primitive, barbarized or hostile. At least one, Rigel IX, is a crime haven."

"So what are they doing here?"

"My guess is that the Rigellian Trade Commission is scouting out the territory, so to speak. They would make investigations about new areas of space without making official contact, then, if recommendations are met and agreed upon, formal contact and trade will come." Dr. Lucas shrugged as he popped a french fry into his mouth. "Don't worry, they won't harm Earth." He gestured at the plate of food in front of Sinclair. "How do you like the food?"

"It's umm...it's great! Of course, it's great. But what I'm interested in are these...'protein resequencers'. The food I'm eating tastes real, but...it's not real food is it?"

Lucas chuckled as he wiped unseen crumbs off of his round belly. "It's real enough. But if you mean if it comes from animals and plants on Earth or the colonies, then no."

The starfury pilot was duly impressed. The ability to create whole meals from essentially nothing is nothing short of magic. If the technology could be incorporated into EarthForce, supply lines could be stretched much farther than before. Ships would then be able to function in distant areas of space without having to return for food to feed their crews and soldiers. Earth's reach could plausibly go far beyond Known Space, something not even the Centauri could yet do. It was once hard to believe Starfleet's claims that hunger has been eliminated on Earth and among the human colonies and outposts. But that was until Sinclair spent a long time on the Columbia.

He tasted his steak. Yep. It tasted real enough. "Reminds me of the Holy Grail."

Bushy eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Holy Grail?" Dr. Lucas repeated incredulously.

"Yeah," said Sinclair. "I was educated by Jesuits in a monastery. In the library, the monks had manuscripts going back to the Middle Ages. Some of them were Grail romances, one by Chrétien de Troyes. Come to think of it, legends of Bran the Giant, too." Seeing incomprehension on the human doctor's face, he continued. "Bran was a Welsh-English legendary giant hero. He had what was called the Cauldron of Plenty. That cauldron shared one characteristic with the Holy Grail..." He looked up at the ceiling to remember. "The exact words were...'whatever food one wished thereon was instantly obtained.' That came from both Bran's story and from 'The Romance of Perceval' or 'The Grail Count' by Chrétien. At least your resequencers are not...golden and studded with gems as they were in the legends."

Lucas chuckled, reciprocating the pilot's own smile. "Thank God, they're not. That'd be damned gaudy and flashy."

"They would be, if you gave them to the Centauri."

Another chuckle. "If you think the protein resequencers are impressive, you should see the replicator technology that the Vulcans have."

"I've seen one, but not in action. What's the difference?"

Dr. Lucas leaned forward, dropping his voice to a whisper. "Most of us prefer not to know. But the resequencer food are actually recycled from wastes throughout the ship. Hence the term 'resequencer'."

"Waste?" Sinclair was losing his appetite.

Jeremy Lucas laughed loudly at the Earther's horrified expression. "That's why we prefer not to know. Not just natural waste, but other things that we throw away. Paper, broken objects, plants, leftover food, things like that."

Sinclair thought that made sense. Waste not, want not. When you get right down to it, food and...'waste' are just collections of molecules and atoms.

"The Vulcan replicators, however," Lucas was saying, "create food from energy itself. No recycling there, except what you put in to be converted into energy. Personally, I don't care about the difference, but I know we would want the Vulcans to share that technology with all of us soon." He looked down at his plate of food, looking a little forlorn. "But there is one thing I care about: variety. The most complex that our resequencers can create is chicken, gravy and potatoes. I hear that the Vulcan replicators can create anything a hell lot more complex than that."

Sinclair nodded and turned to look out the windows once more. The stars were stretching from dots into lines. The Columbia was going to warp. The phenomenon never ceased to fascinate him. Resequencers, transporters, artificial gravity and FTL travel in normal space!

**Signet System (61 Cygni System)**

Thirteen Vulcan ships cruised throughout the star system, investigating it. The flagship, identifiable as the Shirasna by its three interlocking rings through which its main body was thrust, was accompanied by a Centauri Vorchan attack cruiser and a Narn light cruiser.

On the Shirasna, Captain Sorik was studying the sensor scans report. An Earth colony on Signet 4, ruins of an indigenous civilization on Signet 5, and a Centauri-built jumpgate set in an orbit between the two planets' orbits, though closer to Signet 5 than Signet 4. The system was deep in between Centauri and Narn spaces. It would serve as an ideal waypoint and neutral corridor through the proposed Border Zone between the Centauri Republic and the Narn Regime. It would be commercially beneficial for the Earthers on Signet 4. EarthForce had recently suggested the system to Ambassador Solkar who then recommended it to the Vulcan fleet and the negotiators involved. The Centauri Emperor Turhan, a peace-minded leader, had already given the suggestion a stamp of his approval. It remained only to convince the Narns to agree to the border alterations.

The agricultural colony on Raghesh 3 was returned to the Centauri who then offered to exchange the outposts at Quadrants 1 and 27 for the Narn outposts at Quadrants 14, 24 and 37 to round out the borders. The Narns had balked at giving Raghesh back until the Vulcan fleet made an appearance in the system. They knew about the Vulcans' military capability, having learned of the confrontation with the Minbari at Epsilon 5 from G'Kar. The fleet also moved quickly to stop the Centauri Lord-General Marrago from investing a large force in an attack on Quadrant 14 in retaliation for the loss of Raghesh 3, an attack that would have meant the destruction of most of Marrago's force against a well-armed and well-armored space station, planetary stations and defense ships. If it wasn't for the Vulcans and Emperor Turhan's quick assistance, Marrago's attack would have escalated the war beyond any point of negotiation.

The sensor report repeatedly mentioned the similarities of the system to the Tellar System back home. Even the fifth planet showed all the characteristics of Tellar itself, except for a deadly toxins in the atmosphere and the ruins.

Alarms rang out and the ship's intercom spoke. _"Captain Sorik, report to the bridge."_

An eyebrow arched as he went up to the bridge. Had the Narns decided to give into their base emotions and opened fire on the Centauri ship over yet another point of contention? Sorik suppressed his irritation at the two supposedly intelligent species. The negotiations had been a test of his self-control. He knew that if it wasn't for the discipline taught by Surak, he would have long ago left in a huff, leaving the two races to pummel each other to death.

When he arrived in the bridge, an officer crisply reported. "Captain Sorik, the jumpgate is detecting the approach of a large vessel."

"Whose vessel?"

"Unknown. The jumpgate sensors could register only a silhouette."

Another officer spoke up. "The jumpgate is activating."

"On viewer," ordered Sorik. His voice almost betrayed his anxiety. Was it a warship from either the Narns or the Centauri? Was it even the Minbari?

On the main viewer, the jumpgate generated a blue vortex and a star appeared to flash in its dark maw, announcing the approach of a vessel. The vessel that finally appeared was unexpected. It was large green-painted sphere which, even as the Vulcans watched, slowly revolved around a horizontal axis that pointed out in front of the vessel. A pod was attached to the front end of the axis, clearly the ship's bridge.

"There are 475 lifesigns on the vessel, many of which is not human... Captain, they are hailing us. They are claiming to be an Earth luxury starliner called the Fantasia."

What was a civilian starliner doing here, especially at a time of war? "Open frequencies."

On the main viewer, a white-uniformed man and a business-suited woman appeared. The man was clearly the captain of the Fantasia, though he had an unfamiliar gold insignia on his left breast: two circles connected to the top edge of a larger circle. The woman's air indicated that she somehow outranked the ship captain. She was the first to speak.

_"Hello, Captain. I am Senator Marie Crane and this is Captain Thomas Strom of the _Fantasia_, a starliner of the Walt Disney Conglomerate."_

"Greetings." A senator? What was an Earth senator doing here? "I am Captain Sorik of the Vulcan cruiser Shirasna. Senator, your presence have...piqued my curiosity somewhat."

The Earth senator's eyes widened innocently. _"Peace is very important, especially in these times of war. Certainly, the success of your mediation with the Centauri and Narns is very important and as such, it would be quite a public event. Events in this system will require our...participation and encouragement."_

Sorik may be a Vulcan, but he was not unfamiliar with human politicians' propensity for angles. "Indeed. Who else is on your ship, Senator?"

_"Oh, the usual galactic luminaries. The rich and famous of Earth, some politicians, reporters, diplomats from Earth and all over the League Worlds. Even Narn and Centauri Prime have representatives aboard."_ She looked to Captain Strom. _"And, of course, the good crew of the Fantasia."_

Now Sorik was more suspicious. "This...event will be highly publicized, then?"

A teethy smile quickly appeared brightly, Marie Crane's eyes twinkling. _"Oh yes. Very highly publicized."_

The Vulcan captain nodded once, saying, "Very well, Senator. You may watch our proceedings, if that is what you wish."

_"Thank you."_

When the communication link was cut, Sorik quickly turned to one of the bridge officers, an eyebrow raised skeptically. "Scan the Fantasia."

After working his console, the Vulcan officer looked up and said, "Aside from the mostly human lifesigns, I am detecting an Abbai, a Brakiri, four Centauri, two Drazi, a Hurr, a Hyach, an Ipsha, a Markab, two Narns, a Pak'ma'Ra, two Vree, and a Yolu. There are other alien lifesigns with which we are not yet familiar. The vessel, which is indeed an Earther ship, depends on centrifugal force to create a gravity environment for the passengers. The human lifesigns in the command pod outside the centrifugal sphere clearly belong to the ship's crew. It is lightly armed with four standard laser cannons. It is clearly not a warship, so logically, the weapons were for repelling space pirates and raiders."

"Intriguing," said Sorik. "The Earthers have bypassed the problem of artificial gravity by incorporating centrifugal forces in certain ship designs. We have not seen such a method on EarthForce vessels, so it is likely to be quite costly. The Narns do not employ either centrifugal or artificial gravity, but the Centauri do employ artificial gravity technology. Interesting. The Fantasia is a luxury starliner, so this 'Walt Disney Conglomerate' must be a very wealthy company." Then Sorik came close to frowning in consternation. "But what are the real reasons for the presence of these 'luminaries'?"

**ISN, Live**

"...and at the end there, that is the diplomatic attaché, ah, Londo Mollari. He is attached to the Centauri delegation to Earth. The woman on his left is the presidential hopeful, Senator Marie Crane. There's Senator Morgan Clark over there. The Narn who seem to be glaring at the Centauri...I'm not sure..."

"Susan? Should we attach any importance to the Centauri's presence on the Fantasia, and the senator talking with Mr. Mollari?"

"I really... Sorry, Bob. There's quite a bit of noise here. It's like a party here on the starliner Fantasia. As you can see, there are banners representing the various worlds invited to the event. And the tables are laden with food and drink from all over Known Space. Very festive, as you can see. The legendary luxury of Walt Disney's starliners can be seen everywhere here. Something like the old ocean liners, the Titanic and the Queen Elizabeth 2. Uh, in answer to your question, no, I don't think we can read anything into... Certainly, the Centauri Republic have repeatedly refused our requests for military intervention-- Ah. The viewer just came on. That means EarthForce and the Coalition forces are arriving."

"Tell us what you're seeing. We can't see over here."

"The scene from space is grand... Ship after ship is seen coming out of jumppoints and the jumpgate, the hulls of EarthForce and Coalition ships gleaming in the Signet sun... The noise you're hearing now is the cheer greeting the radio as squadron greeted squadron, and this, with the martial music and sharp clear orders of commanding officers, made a combinatin of sounds very pleasant to the ear of an Earther proud to be a citizen of a nation that will finally survive."

"Yes. And right on time. We should point out that there is a lot riding on President Levy's shoulders. Success against the Minbari here would bring more alien worlds to our side and help force a peaceful resolution to the war. It looks like they couldn't have asked for a better day. The Vulcans are at Signet with their famed fleet. A coincidence, perhaps, but it would help a lot."

"Yes, Bob. It is a good day."

**UES Enterprise NX-01**

The bridge crew of the Starfleet flagship could see the Vulcan ships moving away from their previous positions throughout the system, arraying a fleet facing the ships sent by EarthForce, Starfleet, the Tellarite Defense Force, and the Andorian Imperial Guard.

"Captain," said Hoshi, "I'm detecting heavy subspace communication between the Vulcan ships."

"They're surprised," said Reed, grinning mischievously at T'Pol. "It's hard to surprise any Vulcan, but we did it."

T'Pol looked straight at Reed and said, "The capacity to make mistakes is hardly a human trait, but I do not verbally dwell on that."

The security officer stared at her, surprised. Even Travis was twisting around from the helm to look at T'Pol, eyes wide. Reed finally found his voice. "Uhh, Captain, she's doing it again."

It was true. Ever since the Starfleet task force made the transition into this universe, T'Pol had been displaying hints of Trip's bad influence even though he hasn't been on the Enterprise for a long time. Archer studied the Vulcan woman who was now looking back at him, expressionlessly. Wait. Was that a look of feigned innocence? The captain shook his head, refusing to believe that a Vulcan had just succeeded in making that subtle and very human expression.

Hoshi spoke up again. "Captain, one of the Vulcan dartships is hailing us."

"All right, put it up."

The main viewer now showed a male Vulcan captain. Archer immediately recognized him.

"Captain Tok?" he said, surprised.

_"Captain Archer, seeing you again is agreeable and...not expected."_

"Oh, we're just in the neighborhood. How's your negotiations with the Narns and Centauri coming along?"

A slanted eyebrow rose reproachfully. _"I have not lost the capacity to forget your glib attitude when you served aboard my ship, the Yarahla. Nor have I lost the capacity to observe. What I am observing is a combined force consisting of nine Andorian warships, seventeen Starfleet vessels, fifteen Tellarite gunships, and...one hundred eighty-six EarthForce warships. You are clearly not...'just in the neighborhood'. It would be more productive for you to enlighten us as to your purposes than being...glib."_

The Enterprise's captain studiously kept looking at Tok, avoiding Reed. Archer was feeling caught out and he knew that at the nearest opportunity, Reed would poke fun at him for being like Trip in the past. "All right, you got me, Captain Tok." He attempted a disarming smile. "As usual."

Tok was still being reproachful as if he was still handling and punishing a much younger Jonathan Archer. _"I am still mindful of the human ability to verbally imitate starships' evasive maneuvers."_

In other words, talk. "Well, we have intelligence that a Minbari force will invade the Signet System. That's what we're here for."

_"I see. That is apparently what the Earther starliner is here for as well. A 'highly publicized event', indeed."_

Starliner? Archer looked around at Hoshi and T'Pol in confusion.

"There is indeed a civilian starliner close by," offered T'Pol. "The starliner Fantasia."

Archer was inwardly outraged. Civilians at a place when a battle might very soon rage across that place? It was the Romulan ambush near Cheron all over again. Many civilians had died in that ambush. He would have preferred the Fantasia to turn around and go back into the jumpgate, but it was not part of his jurisdiction. "How many passengers?"

"Approximately 300."

Three hundred deaths waiting to happen!

"Captain Tok, I assure you that I didn't know about the Fantasia. If I had, I would have urged them not to come here."

_"It is not our affair. The starliner has remained close by the local jumpgate and Captain Sorik has recommended that the Narns and Centauri use their ships to guard it. The starliner's presence is illogical, I agree, but it is their choice and we can only use neutral vessels to keep it safe for the moment."_

"Thank you, Captain. Archer out." The captain angrily turned to Hoshi. "Get me the Fantasia."

**ECS Horizon, in orbit of Signet 4**

The cargo ship's captain could barely see the Enterprise in the distance in the main viewer. Paul knew that his brother would be at the helm aboard the starship.

"Hey, Spike," he said, "are we receiving telemetry?"

"Yes, Paul," replied the man at the sensor station. Just before jumping out of hyperspace, Starfleet and the Andorians had cooperated in setting up monitor buoys with automated thrusters to keep them in place within the turbulence of hyperspace. No one was sure of their effectiveness due to the nature of the environment, but it was worth a try. Anything was better than not seeing the Minbari's approach.

Paul was glad that he and Travis had managed to persuade their mother to stay behind on Mars. Their Mars, not the Alliance's Mars. He shook his head gently. Sometimes it was confusing with having to identify which planet was really their planet. He was thankful that it was just the ten planets of the Sol System. He'd go insane if every world in this universe was an exact counterpart of the worlds in his home universe.

Hyperspace was another thing. Paul had initially been terrified of its chaotic nature. Subspace turbulence was one thing, but constant turbulence in the entire voyage? He had prayed that his old ship's integrity would hold and not fall apart

"Are the MACOs ready?"

"Yes, Paul."

"All right. Tell Colonel Alford on the Enterprise that we're dropping."

One by one, the MACO dropships detached themselves from the cargo ship's central grid. Thrusters fired, each dropship maneuvered themselves into Signet 4's atmosphere toward designated areas of the planet's surface. Along with the GROPOs already on the surface, the MACOs wouldn't be an army if the Minbari made successful landings, but it was a start. Besides, it was expected that the combined fleets in the system would be able to stop the Minbari.

Paul Mayweather hoped so.

**EAS Prometheus**

The gunner sergeant almost bumped into the ship's captain. He had been pulling himself on hand-holds through one of the cruiser's corridors, exchanging words of excitement and anticipation with his fellow crewmates. David McIntyre was on the Prometheus when Jankowski ordered the first opening shots of the war. Ever since, he had been trying to make amends for the deaths of the sixty thousand humans so far killed as a result. His friends had wondered why he chose to stay on such an ill-fated ship like the Prometheus. He had wondered himself. Perhaps it was with the hope of wiping the stain of Jankowski clean off of the ship through actions to save humanity.

Now the Prometheus had a chance to really save humanity at Signet. McIntyre launched himself away from a corridor wall, reaching for a hand-hold at a corner. At the last moment, he saw another hand reach around from behind the corner to grasp the hand-hold. McIntyre's arms flailed out to hit the approaching wall to keep himself from plowing into the other crewman.

It was the ship's captain.

Bouncing off of the wall to reach for another hand-hold, David McIntyre attempted a salute in midflight. "Captain."

Alan Chafin waved off the salute. "Sergeant McIntyre. How're you?"

"Fine, sir, just fine." McIntyre's eyes wandered to a bulkhead through which he imagined he could see the civilian starliner. "And proud, sir."

"Proud?"

"Yes, sir. I'm feeling kinda proud, too."

Captain Chafin followed the gunner sergeant's eyes to the bulkhead, 'seeing' the civilian starliner beyond. "Ah...the Fantasia. Others in the fleet have expressed similar feelings. Politicians and the rich and famous watching all of us. Sometimes I think our ships have somehow stumbled into the Roman Coliseum and the battle is going to be the game that everyone has paid to watch."

"Yes, sir." McIntyre grinned lopsidedly as he raised a stiff arm in salute. "Morituri te salutant!"

We who are about to die salute you.

Stiffening with mock seriousness, Chafin said, "Soldier, you're in EarthForce. You're not a gladiator." Humor gleamed in the captain's eyes.

Still wearing a lopsided grin, McIntyre nodded. "Yes, sir."

Caged bulbs throughout the ship activated and began to throw red light beams all around and a soft wail sounded. McIntyre and Chafin recognized it as the ship's red alert klaxon. Humor quickly forgotten, the two crewmen nodded to each other and pulled themselves through individually chosen corridors to their posts.

**UES Enterprise NX-01**

Jonathan Archer burst out through the turbolift door. He said tensely, "What is it?"

T'Pol was studying her science reader, saying, "Hyperspace Monitor Buoy Number 16 is offline."

"This better not be a false alarm..."

Captain Archer was about to give the order for the Sarajevo to go through the jumpgate and fix the problem when a beep sounded in Reed's console. "Captain! Another just went down! Monitor Buoy 18 is down!"

Archer took a sharp intake of breath, eyes widening. It couldn't be a coincidence.

"And another! Mon—...and another!"

It could only mean one thing. "The Minbari...," whispered Archer.

**Hyperspace, Signet System**

Warleader Branmer's fleet of 180 Sharlin warcruisers slowly cruised through hyperspace, looking unperturbed and heading for the upcoming confrontation with EarthForce and the Coalition fleets in the Signet System. Several Nial fighters were flying ahead of the fleet, shooting down another monitor buoy. The fiery destruction was quickly swallowed by the hell of hyperspace while the fighters moved on to the next buoy.

Trailing far behind the fleet and nearly beyond the last ship's hyperspace-reduced sensor range was the Grey Council cruiser and its escort ships.

The great battle which was to arrest the Minbari advance or make the Earth Alliance a power in the galaxy again or continue the inevitable Minbari onslaught was no longer distant or doubtful.


	12. Crossroads of Our Being

"Crossroads of Our Being"

_It was the crossroads of our being, and it was a hell of a crossroads: the suffering, the enormous tragedy of the whole thing._

–Shelby Foote, historian in an interview in Ken Burns' _The Civil War_

Warleader Branmer knew that the Earther and Coalition forces were coming into the Signet System. He watched the holodisplay as the last of the alien devices in hyperspace was eliminated by the Wind-Star fighters. The Nials efficiently banked to return to their mother-ships. The knowledge of the alien mercenaries accompanying the Earthers had come from an alien source to a Minbari named Sonovar who then informed Callier who in turn relayed the information to the Grey Council. From within the tactical center of his Shargotti warcruiser, the Regatta, Branmer had dismissed the Earthers, knowing that his fleet could easily slice them up. The alien mercenaries, however...

The last Nial swept past the warleader in the holodisplay.

The new aliens can be handled, Branmer believed, as the Minbari has never been defeated in war. For this reason, he had personally, in his mind, named his warfleet 'The Ever-Victorious Fleet'. Naturally, he did not tell others of that. It would be too presumptuous of him. Only the Grey Council and its still non-existent leader, the Chosen One, could so name any warfleet. After the defeat of the aliens, he could discretely petition the Council for the honor of that name.

It was time.

"A Warrior will not fear death," muttered Branmer to himself, repeating the Warrior Caste mantra he'd learned from his father's clan, the Star Riders, the oldest of the clans on Minbar, upon answering the call of the Warrior Caste in his heart, "as we are already dead. Only those of the living can fear." He turned to an alyt, the red shimmering light of hyperspace playing on his face. "Jump."

xxxxxxxxx

The combined fleets of Starfleet, the Earthers, Vulcans, Andorians and Tellarites had arranged themselves upon the first warning signs of the monitor buoys' destruction in hyperspace. It had taken some persuasion from the various allied factions to have Captain Sorik keep his fleet of Vulcan cruisers from warping away. Fighters were launched from the EarthForce ships and the three Vulcan Suurok-class combat cruisers, creating a defensive screen in front of the vast allied fleet. Many among the allies knew that the Minbari were going to get a nasty surprise.

The starliner, Fantasia, maintained its distance close to the jumpgate, flanked by a Centauri Vorchan attack cruiser and a Narn Th'nor light cruiser. The cargo ship, Horizon, had hidden itself behind Signet 4 far away from the battlespace and the jumpgate.

Finally, jumppoints bloomed open like blue flowers in the night sky. Minbari warcruisers, already launching their fighters, leapt into the void.

The opening of 180 jumppoints wreaked havoc in subspace sensors for a while, but it was enough to keep the Coalition forces from opening fire before EarthForce did.

One of the Vulcan combat cruisers, upon the end of the subspace distortions, dispassionately and quickly calculated that there were 3,600 fighters—20 for each warcruiser.

An onlooker would later remember that the arriving Minbari fleet looked like "a bristling school of oversized piranha fishes catching the scent and moving for the kill."

**EAS Alamo**

The Hyperion-class cruiser's bridge crew would have agreed with the onlooker's comparison. Their captain, Justy Ueki Tylor, grimly watched the jumppoints create new momentary poisonous stars. Since the war began, his ship had not fired a single shot, having been relegated to patrol duty on the other side of the Earth Alliance.

Even so, every engagement the Alamo had been in was won. Oh, it was mostly Raiders and minor races like the Ch'Lonas and Koulani testing the Alliance's territorial resolve in the face of the Minbari onslaught.

Tylor realized that the Minbari were nothing like he had ever experienced so far. God, those blue warcruisers were so big! All this went through his mind in the time it took for the jumppoints to bloom open.

A small red button began blinking on the communications officer's console. It was the signal.

Well trained and well briefed officers knew what the signal meant. Captain Tylor sincerely hoped that he, his crew and his ship would survive their baptism of fire. His cannons' energy finally spiked.

EarthForce opened fire first.

**Minbari Warcruiser Tirshia**

Shai Alyt Morzat was astonished at the instantaneous salute by the Earthers. They were clearly prepared for the Minbari arrival. That must be what the strange devices destroyed in hyperspace were for. Only a few of their beams and bolts managed to graze the warcruisers.

His rii carefully stepped ahead of Morzat's alyt, keeping his eyes respectfully lowered. "Shai Alyt, the sensor stealth is at optimum operation."

Morzat released a breath he didn't realize he was holding. That meant the Minbari sensor stealth still held against the humans. He didn't realize his semi-conscious fear of the new aliens' assistance in defeating the stealth. "Thank you, Rii Ne'fir."

In the tactical center's holodisplay, the cloud of Nial fighters reached the EarthForce and Vulcan defense screen, preventing the Sharlins from returning fire with their main guns at the EarthForce ships. Emerald neutron beams mixed with Earther bright yellow pulse cannon bolts and Vulcan green-white phase cannon beams. Some of the neutron fire splashed on Vulcan skin-hugging shields, surprising the Minbari pilots. Some of them then ganged up on the Vulcans.

Morzat nodded his silent approval.

**UES Sarajevo NC-27**

"Captain, they ain't playing fair!"

"Of course not," said the captain tolerantly. "Lieutenant Martin, we would have done the same in their position."

"Yes, sir," said the lieutenant, though his tone implied he didn't believe that.

"Would you prefer it if all of us were to heave to and deliver broadsides blow for blow like in the old days of sea warfare?"

A smirk slowly appeared on Martin's face as he shared the captain's humorous imagination of Napoleonic sea warfare in space.

On the main viewer, a Neptune-class ship hung in front of the Sarajevo. Its impulse engines began to glow red. The captain nodded. "That's our cue. Helm, follow the Triton." He smiled at Robert Martin, humor twinkling in his eyes. "Now you can touch your weapons."

The Sarajevo was one of the four NC-class corvettes lead by the Neptune-class starship Triton. They moved away from the assembled fleets and charged straight into the melée of fighters. Red phase cannon beams and spatial missiles immediately joined in the storm of colored lightnings.

**Walt Disney Conglomerate starliner SS Fantasia**

In one of the Fantasia's main ballrooms, the assembled and finely dressed passengers listened intently to the voices coming from the starfuries on the speakers flanking the huge viewscreen.

_"Beta Nine!"_

_"He's gone!"_

_"Stay together!"_

_"They're everywhere!"_

_"I got a bone on my tail!"_

_"Zeta Two!"_

_"Aaargh!"_

Murmured comments rose from several of the passengers before most of them were hushed by other anxious passengers.

xxxxxxxxx

The Vulcan fighters and the small Starfleet vessels quickly made themselves felt as Nial after Nial blew fatally. The Andorians launched their combat drones, adding their weaponry to the melée. The combat drones swarmed and glowed into the cloud of fighters like fireflies and began to wildly fire disruptors bolts at the Minbari.

**UES Columbia NX-02**

While the above was happening, the science officer frowned at the sensor schematics of the Minbari ships. He decided to isolate one warcruiser for sensor reading. He frowned further. The schematic still showed only a sketchy wire-frame image of the warcruiser. Even that flickered and jumped nervously.

"Something the matter, Mr. Leaf?" asked Captain Erika Hernandez.

Edmund Leaf looked up from his console. "Yes, ma'am. Our sensors are still having a hard time punching through their sensor stealth."

"That was in the reports from the Enterprise. If I remember correctly, Commander T'Pol bypassed the problem by focusing on their artificial gravity well."

"Yes, ma'am, but I still want to crack that sensor stealth. If I crack it, we could use it against the Romulan cloak."

Erika shook her head as she watched the Starfleet anti-fighter corvettes make their move in the main viewer. "We don't have time for that, Mr. Leaf. If we're getting only bits and pieces of them, EarthForce's getting a lot less. Suggestion?"

The science officer thought quickly, tearing his mind away from the problem of stealth cracking. "Tie our sensors to the EarthForce ships?"

It was a wild grab for an idea. But Erika smiled appreciatively at the idea anyway. "We should have thought of that before. Better late than never. Good work, Mr. Leaf." While Leaf flushed with pleasure at her praise, the Columbia's captain moved quickly to order the relaying of the idea to all ships in the allied fleets. She hoped that this tactic wouldn't be too late to affect the battle's result, seeing how the Coalition was new to this kind of warfare of massive fleets.

Here, a wild idea from a Starfleet technology specialist has forged a closer alliance between the diverse fleets, one that would allow the lumbering Earth ships more of a fighting chance.

Quickly, the subspace sensors on the Starfleet, Andorian and Tellarite ships were quickly tied in to EarthForce scanners and, feeling more prepared now than before, the allied fleets began to move forward to meet the Minbari capitol ships. Tentatively, the EarthForce ships opened fire once more.

For the first time in the war, Earth cruisers and destroyers scored direct hits on Minbari warcruisers. This, more than anything else, inspired cheers on the EarthForce ships and on the Fantasia.

Having confirmed EarthForce's ability to score hits, the ships belonging to Starfleet, the Andorian Imperial Guard, the Tellarite Defense Force and the Vulcan High Fleet began to lash out at the Minbari in earnest.

**EAS Prometheus**

Gunner Sergeant David McIntyre didn't feel like cheering. He suppressed a momentary guilty memory of his role in starting this war and kept his thumbs pressed down on the fire buttons. From beneath the round window, twin pulses of plasma energy shot forth, weaving across the black of space, scorching paths into Minbari armors. He gritted his teeth as he killed more Minbari than he ever did since Jankowski's debacle. Tears of anger streaked down his cheeks as he used the battle to suppress more of his trauma.

A star flared momentarily, signaling the death of another unseen starfury. It only fuelled McIntyre into keeping his thumbs pressed down on his firing controls.

**EAS Katana**

General Getulio Vargas watched the battle with glee. He felt like jumping up with excitement at the shattering destruction of a Sharlin under the fire of four Hyperions. It was the first warcruiser to be destroyed without the need for saturation fire or ramming actions since Jankowski. He remained seated in his command chair. Even though Starfleet had generously laid gravity plating throughout his ship, one of the first few to receive the technology, they still kept the habit of wearing safety harnesses.

He pointed at another Sharlin nearing the allied fleets. "Target that one." Remembering all the sixty thousand humans murdered by these arrogant aliens, Vargas clenched his pointing hand into a fist and snarled, "All guns, fire!"

The plasma cannons on the Katana spoke their fury, scorching craters into polycrystalline armor.

**Minbari Fleet Command Ship Regatta**

A Worker staggered to his feet, his face mirroring the shock, confusion and astonishment on the other Minbari crewmates' faces. The warcruiser rocked once more at a weapon impact. He spotted the circular entrance to the command ship's tactical center. Galvanized by the sight, Barai gathered his robe and ran, picking his way among other running crewmates. He had been assigned by the Worker Caste Elders to observe and record the technologies used by the new aliens. He had once thought it was an exercise in futility since he trusted that the Warriors would quickly and easily destroy the new enemies.

Not anymore.

The best way to observe was to either watch through a window at the battle. An extremely risky position with enemy weapons directly seeking to hit the warcruiser. The next best way was to be in the tactical center itself with the great warleader Branmer himself.

Upon reaching the huge round door, the ceremonial guards flanking it didn't stop him, busy as they were with their own shock. The door irised open.

Barai was momentarily surprised to feel the hint of a breeze coming from within. He hesitated. The great Branmer, after all, was inside.

The warcruiser shook again, forcing the Worker to reach out a hand to the door's curved side for support. Hesitation banished by the alien weapon impact, he stepped through.

He could see that Branmer shared the astonishment reigning throughout his fleet. He was further shocked upon seeing the source of the weapon impacts in the holodisplay. The Earthers have somehow defeated the sensor stealth! Branmer didn't bother shielding his eyes at the bright flash of a second Sharlin's explosion in the holodisplay. Unlike the earlier advances, this was turning into a true battle for his Ever-Victorious Fleet. His face hardened.

"Left flank—CHARGE."

An alyt's astonishment was increased by the warleader's new order while Barai kept himself discretely in the dark outside the command circle. The alyt protested reflexively. "In Valen's name! We've somehow lost the stealth! If we follow your order, we'll be annihilated! We must—" The alyt visibly choked on the next word. "...retreat."

Barai muffled a gasp at that un-Minbari word. Retreat!

A dangerous glint appeared in Branmer's eyes, causing the alyt to bow apologetically, eyes kept carefully and respectfully averted from the warleader's gaze. "I always endeavor to take care of my wounded and bury my dead. You have heard my order—OBEY it."

Through Branmer's order, a path was chosen in the crossroads.

The Wind Swords, the most militant of the Warrior clans, took Branmer's order to heart and their warcruisers commenced crossing the void, leading the left flank in its charge. Tellarite gunships quickly bypassed the fighter dogfight and rained their beam weapons upon the Minbari capitol ships, weaving between and around them.

**Andorian Imperial Warship Thori**

The tactical officer grinned at the message coming from the Tamar scrolling down the monitor on his console. His antennae weaved above his white hair with amusement. "Commander A'sh, Captain Shran says 'We are not going to let the damned Tellarites claim to be braver than us. Charge!'"

A'sh's antennae rose in surprise. "Did he really say that, B'cade?"

"Guard's honor!" B'cade grinned once more. "I'm surprised he's not trying to use the Vulcans as an example for us to surpass."

"Should he?"

The tactical officer shrugged. "I wouldn't care, though they did lie about their so-called monastery."

A chuckle came from the Andorian commander. "All right, Guards, take us into the Minbari ranks!"

One by one, the nine Andorian warships weaved their ways through and around the milling and exploding fighters to strike at the Minbari directly.

**UES Heisenberg NX-06**

Captain Emily Stiles leaned forward in her command chair as her starship, made its way through the clouds of fighters, achieving a clear view of the Minbari capitol ships. She smiled mischievously, knowing that they didn't have experience with photonic torpedoes. "Let 'em have it, Mr. Reynolds."

Lieutenant James Reynolds was delighted. Finally, he could have a direct hand in the pyrotechnic show just starting up! "Yes, Captain!"

The torpedoes finally made their appearances, having been held back due to the fighters milling around between the opposing fleets. They tore off parts that jutted out from the main bodies of Minbari warcruisers, sending a few stumbling in shock. Onboard some of them, Minbari crewmates of all castes similarly stumbled in shock at the torpedo impacts. Several Starfleet photonic torpedoes took out a starboard main fin, causing the ship to seemingly topple out of control, nearly hitting a neighboring warcruiser.

It was for this reason that Shai Alyt Morzat decided that the alien saucer vessels posed a great threat and ordered his fighters to target the larger vessels.

**UES Enterprise NX-01**

Captain Archer held onto his chair as the Enterprise shook under the impact of fire from one of the Minbari fighter packs ganging up on him.

Malcolm Reed reported, "The Neptune and the Shenandoah are taking care of the fighters."

Archer nodded. "Good. Keep targeting the Sharlins. I'll have to thank Captain Duvall later." He refrained from giving orders to Travis Mayweather. The helmsman knew what to do.

Unseen by the bridge crew except Hoshi Sato, Travis was wearing a look of determined concentration as he struggled with the control joystick.

The starship Enterprise, faithfully escorted by its two Neptune ships, turned tightly to the left and fired at a Sharlin, sending photonic torpedoes crashing into its main body. Clouds of flame billowed at the impact points. Retaliation fire narrowly missed the agile starship. Phase pulses tore into its weapon turrets before a Vulcan Kir-class combat cruiser's torpedoes rushed into the open gashes of the Minbari ship, causing it to explode spectacularly. The Starfleet trio turned in another direction hard to avoid the debris.

"Hoshi," said Archer, "Thank the S'Tasmeen for the assist."

"Will do, sir." Hoshi then frowned and smiled at the same time at what she was hearing. "Captain Duvall is asking you not to be a moth."

Archer grinned, appreciating the battle humor from the captain of the Shenandoah.

"The Minbari," said T'Pol as she squinted against the flare of a Nial being destroyed very close to the Enterprise, "do not appear capable of adapting to this battle."

"Yeah," said Reed, "but just look at the Vulcans go!" This was said with awe.

The Vulcans were especially deadly with their efficient accuracy. Again and again, they struck at Minbari weapon arrays and engines, leaving the warcruisers at the mercy of EarthForce and their allies, especially the Andorians. The Vulcan dartships, led by the Yarahla, weaved throughout the battlespace, helping fighters and corvettes to sweep it clear of Minbari fighters with pinpoint accuracy and keeping the enemy capitol ships away from the dogfight.

EarthForce was especially vengeful and gleeful. Some of its ships ganged up on individual Sharlins, cutting them to pieces.

xxxxxxxxx

_"We...fired a volley," an EarthForce private from Mars later wrote, "and saw the Boneys running... The boys were saying constantly, in great glee, 'We've whipped them!' 'They're running!' 'The war's over!'"_

xxxxxxxxx

Indeed, the charge of the Minbari left flank was crumbling. Sharlin after Sharlin was forced away from position to position when they were not shattering in fire. The cloud of Minbari fighters was slowly burning away in the heat of EarthForce's vengeful fury.

Away from the battlespace and on the Fantasia, champagne corks were popping while a voice came from the speakers, that of General Vargas, announcing, _"We are winning a great victory!"_ The stars of Earth, the rich and famous, diplomats and assorted politicians greeted that with a cheer and began celebrating the reversal of Earth's war fortunes. They all felt like heroes for having been in the Signet System for the battle.

A white-uniformed waiter poured a champagne bottle over a pyramid of champagne glasses, letting the bubbling liquor flow down from the top glass to fill the others. The passengers surged forward to grab available glasses. One of them was Londo Mollari.

The Centauri attaché was once rather nervous that the party on the Fantasia would prove yet another wake celebrating the death of humanity. Among the Centauri people, a birth is mourned, but a death is cheerfully celebrated. The same was true for weddings and divorces. Odd that the humans should do all of that backward. He even feared that the Minbari would destroy this starliner in spite of the fact that his death-dream has not changed. That, more than anything else, was his reason to board this ship and witness this battle.

A nudge nearly made him spill his drink. Londo turned at the nudge and had to quickly cover up his sudden stab of fear. It was the Narn, G'Kar.

He had first met him, and recognized him right away as the Narn from the death-dream, soon after his disruption of the peace initiative between the humans and Minbari at Epsilon 5.

"Ambassador," said G'Kar with a mocking smile. "I'm surprised you're celebrating with us. I believe it's more...appropriate for you Centauri to mourn."

"The humans have a saying... 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do.' I'm only being diplomatic. Besides, it's not every day that someone manages to spear the Minbari dragon."

G'Kar chuckled as he upswung his glass, drinking the champagne in a gulp. "Here we are, witnessing the beginning of the end for the great and terrible Minbari! Even the Centauri, at the height of their empire, never dared to challenge them. But here we are, Londo!"

Londo scoffed dismissively. "Bah. The humans are getting help from these new aliens. If these aliens hadn't come, they would be as dead as your people should have been. Besides, this little celebration is a bit premature, I think."

G'Kar shrugged as he thrust his glass for a waiter to refill. "Mark my words, Londo. One day, we will get allies like this Coalition and _crush_ the Centauri to dust! If the present victory against the Minbari is this sure..." G'Kar's eyes gleamed at the Centauri attaché. "_Imagine_ the kind of victory we'd have against your people!"

xxxxxxxxx

Indeed, victory for the Earthers and the Coalition was so sure that at one part of the battlespace, some of the EarthForce ships stopped to destroy disabled Minbari ships in gleeful vengeance before moving on to the remaining warcruisers both active and disabled.

But holding a position at the center of the Minbari fleet was a squadron of warcruisers commanded by Branmer himself, who believed the Minbari cause literally sacred and was able to convey that religious certitude to his men. Sharlins operated by the Worker Caste held a spherical bastion around Branmer's ship while Religious Caste ships weaved around the bastion, shooting down offending intruders. The Warrior Caste ships of the Star Rider clan darted and sniped at their enemies, and kept from wandering away from Branmer's position. While other Minbari clan-commands wavered, his held firm.

One of the Warrior Caste ships managed to predict the path of the Neptune ship leading the NC corvettes and fired a neutron beam at full power. The triangular ship attempted to avoid the beam, but its already high speed brought it right through it. Their flagship sliced, the NC corvettes went on their separate ways but they continued to successfully wreak havoc on the dwindling Minbari fighters.

On the Sharlin responsible for this success, Shai Alyt Morzat was elated. He looked around the tactical center chamber at the holodisplay. Noticing something, he looked up, pointed and shouted excitedly to Alyt Ne'fir, not caring if everyone in the fleet could hear him, "Never fear, Ne'fir! Look, there is Branmer with his Star Rider clan, standing strong!"

The Tirshia shook violently at a shot from an Andorian warship. The umbrella structure suspended from the top of the chamber swung, causing the central pillar of light and the holodisplay to waver. Ne'fir looked up in alarm and ran out from under the umbrella structure. Morzat, however, was busy ordering actions for ships in his squadron to take.

Another shot from the Andorian ship caused the structure to snap from its support. It fell, giving the shai alyt little time to look up in alarmed surprise. The light and holodisplay was extinguished as it crashed to the chamber floor, crushing Morzat underneath it and leaving the alyt in total darkness. The oppressive darkness caused the alyt to blindly flail about in panic for a moment. Ne'fir didn't consciously know that his action was imitated by his own ship, suddenly left in the dark with the death of its shai alyt and the destruction of the tactical center.

The warcruiser rocked once more and Ne'fir stumbled to the floor, crying out to the universe to save them all. For the first time, he feared the darkness.

But the Minbari lines, bolstered by Morzat's shout and Branmer's example, finally held.

It was a turning point in the crossroads. The fight seesawed back and forth across space. In some places, the battle degenerated into dogfights between capitol ships.

**Signet 4, Earth Alliance colony**

The colonists and soldiers, where they could, looked up as new stars shone for very brief seconds in the night sky. Among them were the United Earth MACOs like Corporal Michael Dean and Private Tony Banks. They still did not know whether the allies would keep the Minbari away from their planet, but they hoped desperately.

**Grey Council Command Ship Valen'tha in hyperspace**

The nine rulers of Minbar had gathered to watch the battle on the holodisplay. Unknown to the warleader, Branmer's flagship was relaying the information to the Grey Council in hyperspace.

"The battle does not go well for us," said Hedronn.

Morann bristled with rage at the failure of the stealth technology against the alien mercenaries. "It's not possible! Nobody has ever defeated our stealth! Someone has betrayed us!"

"Be sensible, _Satai_," said Hedronn, softly emphasizing the title to remind Morann to keep his supposedly dignified composure as one of the Nine. "We will find a way to make ourselves invulnerable again." He looked up again at the bastion of warcruisers in the Minbari center. "Warleader Branmer is to be commended for holding this long without succumbing."

"But it's not going well! You said it!"

"Perhaps," put in Delenn carefully, "we should...make a _strategic_ retreat."

Only the presence of the other councillors prevented Morann from giving in to his rage and jumping at Delenn. "We have never lost a battle! We are _not_ going to start losing battles now!"

Delenn was troubled for she agreed with the Warrior satai's sentiment. "We have lost battles before. Against each other before Valen united us and against the Shadows. _However_," she added at another flash of rage in Morann's eyes. "We have not lost a war against any alien force. Like you, I do not find the prospect of losing a war...pleasant."

A crystalline chime sounded. The Grey Council stiffened, as if jolted with electricity. They knew what it meant: sensor contacts in hyperspace. Another path has been chosen in the crossroads.

"Then," said Coplann, "let us force the battle to the desired conclusion."

**UES Heisenberg NX-06, Battle of Signet**

"Captain!"

Emily Stiles turned at the shout from her tactical officer.

"Sensors are detecting subspace distortions... Jumppoints are forming!"

"Where?"

James Reynolds blanched at the sensor readings in his console. "Right in the middle!"

New jumppoints bloomed open in the midst of the battlespace. The thirteen tightly packed jumppoints destroyed many starfuries and tore through fifteen Earth destroyers and a Vulcan Kir-class combat cruiser. A dartship, heavily damaged by the jumppoints' formation, tumbled out of control. The tumbling dartship crashed through the Heisenberg's starboard nacelle, causing it to spray jets of plasma. Out of the jumppoints roared a Shargotti, three Sharlins and nine Tinashis, blasting away at the Earthers and the Coalitioners, and launching their own fighters.

The Grey Council fleet was made up by the best of the best in the Minbari Federation, so it was as solid as Branmer's squadron. Working as one, the warcruisers bore onto the damaged Heisenberg and her flanking Neptune guards.

On the NX-class starship, the crew was working frantically with this unexpected turn of events. Captain Emily Stiles strained against the violent vibration of her bridge which was now dark except for emergency lights and the few Red Alert lights.

"Damage report!"

The communications officer said, "Casualty reports coming in from all over the ship!"

Reynolds added his report. "The starboard nacelle is hit. We're venting drive plasma! We've lost our Neptunes!"

A whistle announced the activation of the ship's intercom. _"Bridge, this is Commander Skon. We're initiating emergency core shutdown."_

The helmsman was looking as if he was doing an Indian arm wrestle with his control joystick. "Inertial dampeners failing! We're losing altitude control!"

Emily Stiles knew that her starship would not survive this latest Minbari assault. She slammed the intercom button. "This is the bridge. All hands to the escape pods."

In Engineering, Skon yanked open one of Engineering's entrance hatches. Tobin Dax who was nursing a broken arm hurried through the hatch with the Vulcan in tow. Other crewmen hurriedly fled through it and other open hatches. Engineering was quickly filling with fog from the damaged engines.

The Valen'tha fired once more, hitting the Heisenberg's warp stabilizer pod, completely destroying it and upending the starship. Her damaged starboard nacelle flared, throwing the starship into a spinning motion.

The Heisenberg's crew could barely stand or run as the starship spun round and round. Several hull platings on the edge of the saucer's main upper dome fell away, revealing the hidden escape pods. One of them was the first to break away and frantically fired thrusters to avoid any impact with its mothership spiraling away.

On the main viewscreen in the bridge, stars, fighters and ships were whipping past, making Captain Stiles dizzy. She strained against the gravitational pressure on her body.

The tactical officer avoided looking at the dizzying and alarming view by focusing on her tactical console. "The core shutdown failed. We're losing antimatter containment."

Emily grimly looked at Lieutenant Reynolds. "Where's our reserves?" she asked herself rhetorically. She had no choice but to activate the intercom once more. "All hands, this is the captain, abandon ship—" Without warning, a violent roaring noise rose and a blast of fire erupted from the front starboard side of the bridge, looking like liquid climbing up the wall and causing the communication officer to scream as he burned. Emily barely registered the event, focusing on her final duty and ignoring the fire that began to reach and lick across the bridge. "Repeat, all hands abandon ship! All hands—"

An explosion from within the Heisenberg caused the starship to crack open down the middle like an egg, flames licking out of the huge open wound. One more and final explosion converted the remains into a fireball.

The Grey Council fleet moved in a pack onto the next target: a Vulcan Kir combat cruiser and several Tellarite gunships.

**UES Enterprise NX-01**

The bridge crew looked in shock at the destruction of the Heisenberg and her escorts in main viewer. Even T'Pol appeared shaken. The Minbari apparently had reserves! EarthForce had no such reserves, having thrown the rest of its offensive forces to other fronts against both the Minbari and the Romulans.

"My bloody God!" exclaimed Malcolm Reed.

Then, in the main viewer, they could see more jumppoints opening throughout the battlespace, disgorging still more Minbari Sharlin and Tinashi warcruisers. Many of these jumppoints tore explosively through EarthForce warships.

The first of the Minbari ships summoned by the Grey Council were finally arriving.

"Hell...," swore Hoshi.

The allies had been fighting for quite some time, many exhausting themselves, so seeing these fresh Minbari was demoralizing. The Grey Council, in a moment of caution long before this battle, had summoned all the ships that were in range of the Signet System. This time, the council's foresight paid off.

On many of the allied ships and fighters, the rhetoric question that the late Captain Emily Stiles asked was repeated: "Where are our reserves?"

**Andorian Imperial Warship Tamar**

Captain Shran felt like screaming in frustration. He had anticipated a grand decisive victory. Perhaps they could still score a victory against the Minbari but it wouldn't be decisive anymore. "Commander Tholos, order all of our warships to hit these new Minbari ships as quickly as possible. They are going to learn to respect the Andorian Imperial Guard!"

**ECS Horizon**

Paul Mayweather was horrified to see the arrival of more Minbari warcruisers. Several of the new jumppoints had opened away from the battle. One of them even opened quite close to Signet 4 behind which his old ship was hiding. He wasn't going to risk finding out if the Minbari would jump out of hyperspace even further out and detect him. Paul decided to do the better part of valor and run.

"Spike, take us to Mars—warp 3!"

"I'm way ahead of you!"

The Horizon was already turning away to face the star that was Sol. It warped away in its direction, not knowing that it had opened a path in the crossroads for others in the Signet System.

On the Enterprise, even though Paul's brother, Travis Mayweather, was busy, he noticed the Horizon's warp signature. That meant his brother was leaving. He was grateful for that. He never wanted to explain to his mother why his brother was not coming home. He hoped that Paul didn't have to explain too.

**Minbari Fleet Command Ship Regatta**

Warleader Branmer's spirit soared at the appearance of reinforcements in the surrounding holodisplay. That other Shargotti had to be the Grey Council's own command ship. That meant Minbar's holy government thought Branmer to be important enough to watch and then help. A massive counterattack from the remains of his fleet would now count.

"All ships, this is Warleader Branmer. Attack! For Dukhat and for the Drala Fi, attack!"

On the nearby Sharlin warcruiser, Ingata, the newly promoted Shai Alyt Neroon's spirit had also soared at the reinforcement. Now it soared anew at his warleader's order. No more would he stay in this useless holding position against the enemies. He gave a shout in memory of the murdered leader, Dukhat, and the cowardly destroyed flagship, the Black Star. "Dukhat and the Drala Fi!"

Throughout the Minbari fleet, many shared and reciprocated the exultant shout: "Drala Fi! Drala Fi!"

xxxxxxxxx

_"There is nothing like it this side of life," a Starfleet veteran remembered many years after the Rift War. "The peculiar corkscrew sensation that it sends down your spine at the sight of those huge warcruisers bearing down on you. You have to feel it, and if you say you did not feel it, and faced the Minbari in battle, you have NEVER been there."_

xxxxxxxxx

To Branmer's delight, the humans and their allies began to edge backward. _"I dispatched orders to go forward in a common charge," he later recalled. "Before the full advance of the Minbari ranks the enemy's whole line irretrievably broke, fleeing across the Signet System by every available direction."_

More jumppoints opened, disgorging still more Minbari warcruisers. Starfleet and any of the other Coalition forces had never faced a battle of this scale before. In addition, green crewmates, who were rushed into service for the Romulan War, were facing their overwhelming baptism of fire. The battle raged on.

**Minbari Warcruiser Takhai**

Alyt Vashaer was shocked when his warcruiser cleared its jumppoint. He could see wrecked and wounded warcruisers throughout the battlespace. When he received the orders to go to the Signet System at his best speed, he had wondered whether his ship would make any difference except only to kick the humans that much harder back into a previous incarnation. Even so, no one would dare question or disobey the Grey Council, least of all Vashaer of the Fire Wing clan.

He hissed his outrage at the new aliens that the Earthers found. They had clearly helped the humans defeat the sensor stealth. Just as clearly, his beam weapons would not be enough to teach them the error of their ways. "All batteries, fire! Missiles, target and fire at will!"

While the 20 megaton missiles sought their targets and exploded blindingly, he took up the rallying cry still bounding through Minbari communication lines in the system as his warcruiser raged into the battle: "Drala Fi!"

**UES Enterprise NX-01**

Meanwhile, the starship's crew had noticed the few surviving escape pods from the late Heisenberg, now deep within the Minbari ranks. Her captain knew that if nothing was done, the Minbari would turn their leisurely genocidal attention onto the defenseless escape pods.

The Enterprise now fought her way through the new warcruisers and fighters. One of her Neptune escorts, the UES Neptune, was already crippled, cartwheeling out of control, but its momentum kept it apace with the NX starship. Then the other Neptune escort, the UES Shenandoah, took a hit from a Minbari 20-megaton missile and was destroyed.

Smoke, sparks and burnt-out panels were everywhere in the bridge as the Enterprise, like the rest of the Starfleet task force and its allies, took a pounding from the invigorated Minbari.

T'Pol ducked her head from more sparks and said, "Captain, we have lost the Neptune and the Shenandoah."

"Bloody hell!" swore Malcolm Reed. "Captain Duvall is—was a good man. We're alone now!"

Travis Mayweather pointed out, "Four enemy ships directly ahead."

Jonathan Archer gave his order, preferring not to think about sharing the Heisenberg's fate. "Evasive maneuvers. We're going through. Those escape pods won't last long!"

The Enterprise made several sharp turns and drilled one of the four Minbari Tinashis with pulse cannons and photonic torpedoes. The starship flew through the gap created by the Tinashi's fiery destruction. But two other Tinashis locked onto the Enterprise's tail.

"That's one down," said Reed.

"Can you shake those two?"

"I'm trying," said Reed and Travis at the same time.

The starship shook violently under neutron fire.

"We have lost aft hull plating," said T'Pol. Even her voice sounded tense and anxious. "Forward plates are down to 60. Captain, I recommend we do not pursue this course of action."

Archer shook his head. It may be foolish, but the people on those escape pods were not going to die pointlessly on his watch. "Divert auxiliary power to the hull. Fire spatial missiles and photonic torpedoes. Let's see if we can fight our way out of this."

The Minbari ships bore down on the Enterprise, energizing their weapons, when suddenly, all of them exploded.

_"Did you miss me, Jonathan?"_

Captain Archer laughed with relief. "Erika! You certainly took your time!"

Erika held on as her starship the Columbia shook under enemy fire. _"Not just me. Captain Tok's dartships are with me too. Don't thank us yet. We still have work to do."_

"All right. Hoshi, hail Captain Tok."

Almost immediately, Tok appeared onscreen. His hair was disorderly. Archer had never seen a Vulcan captain this ruffled before. This made the difficulties of this battle all the more clear to him. _"Captain Archer."_

"How're you holding up, Tok?"

_"The speed and agility of my remaining ships have allowed us to last this long unscathed. The S'Tasmeen was destroyed in the first wave of the Minbari reinforcements. The captain of the Sh'Raan has been killed but it fights on. Our fighters are continuing to assist the starfuries."_ Captain Tok, hearing one of his officers, turned to look offscreen. The corners of his lips tightened as he looked back at Archer. _"The MonKaara is under heavy attack. The T'Ruda and Tal'Kir have been ordered to assist it. I must lend my assistance as well."_

Archer turned to Reed who nodded. The Enterprise was now beaming aboard the Heisenberg's survivors from their escape pods. "All right, Captain Tok. We're done here. Thank you and good luck."

The Vulcan captain nodded once.

The main viewer went back to the view of the battle still raging on. Captain Archer's lips tightened. If the Vulcans were now having problems, the same must be true for the rest of the Coalition forces. Onscreen, he could see the shining flaring stars of still more jumppoints opening in the distance. It looked as if the Minbari were not going to stop pouring reinforcements into the star system.

"Damn."

xxxxxxxxx

The Grey Council fleet savagely bore down on the Vulcans who were recognized as the most dangerous foe they had to deal with. The Kir-class combat cruiser MonKaara, caught in an unfavorable position, attempted to flee back behind the Coalition lines. The Valen'tha and her powerful escorts, however, were relentless.

A neutron beam found its way through the Vulcan shields to the engine pod jutting out into the middle of the horizontal ring. It blew brightly, causing the blue glow on the vertical ring nacelle to flicker. The MonKaara's two surviving sisters soon swiftly came to her rescue, forcing the Grey Council fleet to find business elsewhere. The lives of the Grey Council aboard the Valen'tha were too valuable for continued direct confrontations, so their squadron kept running from target to target, hitting them savagely.

In spite of the destruction of her engine pod and the depressurization of some of her decks, the MonKaara fought on with her remaining weapons, depending on the impulse engines for speed and maneuverability. Seeing that the warp drive was now offline, her captain ordered the vertical ring nacelle to turn down into the shelter of the heavily armored horizontal ring, preserving it for later warp.

**Vulcan Cruiser Shirasna**

On the Vulcan flagship, Captain Sorik was now regretting his decision to keep his fleet in the system. Even so, the Vulcans and their allies in the Coalition and the Earth Alliance were still inflicting heavy casualties on the Minbari in spite of the still incoming reinforcements. Thanks to the still very young age and strength of his ship, the Shirasna still lived and endured the deprecations thrown at it by the Minbari.

The new cruiser lurched hard as the Shirasna's shields took yet another shot. Phase cannons spoke in retaliation, taking out the offending Minbari's main guns. A pack of Tellarite gunships came in to take out the warcruiser's engines and subsidiary guns, depressurizing many of its decks.

It was time to ignore the warcruiser. The Vulcan engines glowed brighter for greater speed to help out beleaguered EarthForce ships. Sorik shook his head. Starfuries still swarmed and danced a deadly dance with the Minbari fighters. Such reckless abandon with their lives. He would have ordered the Vulcan fighters, which was now beginning to lose ships, out of the fight, but that would only allow the starfury pilots to die more quickly. It was perhaps fortunate that the Starfleet corvettes were still fighting among the one-man crafts.

"Captain Sorik," said a bridge officer, "the Sh'Raan is hailing us."

"Onscreen."

The Shirasna's bridge crew was soon treated to the sight of carnage on the Sh'Raan's bridge. Sparks blew from several consoles. They could see that a piece of shrapnel had driven itself into the captain's head. Clearly, Sorik did not need to query after the cause of the captain's death. A Vulcan woman looked up from a tactical station.

_"I'm Sub-Commander T'Sesh."_

Sorik raised an eyebrow, acknowledging the implications. If the sub-commander was speaking, then the commander was either incapacitated or also dead. "Status, Sub-Commander."

_"Weapons are offline. There are numerous hull breaches. I am unable to contact Engineering, but the intercom system is still fully functional. I am in the process of investigating the cause--"_ The sub-commander paused at a soft chirp from her console and looked down at it. She looked up again at Sorik, looking more unemotional than before. _"Engineering is depressurized. However, the warp matrix is still online."_

The last piece of information was a hint, Sorik knew. A hint that T'Sesh thought it would be prudent for them to retreat. "Sub-Commander, withdraw."

The Sh'Raan's sub-commander nodded once and the communication link was cut.

Captain Sorik arched his other eyebrow. Since that first wave of Minbari reinforcements appeared, the Vulcans lost one Maymora dartship and one Kir combat cruiser. Another Kir combat cruiser was now heavily damaged and now the Suurok-class cruiser Sh'Raan had become heavily damaged as well.

That meant the Vulcan fleet, which originally had thirteen capitol ships, had a 20 casualty and loss, with the damaged Sh'Raan and MonKaara combined as a lost ship. The Sh'Raan was the last straw. There was no logic in staying and dying needlessly. Especially when they were tossed into the battle without warning beforehand, forcing them to violate the orders of the Vulcan Council and High Command. As a logical race, Vulcans did not seek glory in battle by fighting greater odds as the Andorians, and sometimes the humans, do.

Captain Sorik knew that most of the allies would not understand the logic of his next course of action.

"Order the Nyran and the Ni'Var to tractor the MonKaara. All ships in the Vulcan fleet are to disengage and depart from this star system at warp."

"Yes, Captain."

**SS Fantasia**

Ambassador Gral was thoroughly enjoying his time on the Fantasia. At this moment, champagne glass in hand, the Tellarite was insulting an Earth senator.

"Senator Clark, you are a weasel," he said. "A rat. I've seen how whenever you smell power or opportunity, you make an excellent imitation of a rat sniffing for trash."

William Morgan Clark's nostrils flared in anger. The short Tellarite ambassador was hitting too close to the mark, but the senator had been briefed on how Tellarites thrived on insults, so he put on his best diplomatic and political appearance. "Ambassador, you look like a pig. Oh, pigs are bovine animals that are too stupid to keep as pets and they wallow in mud. They're only good enough for us to slaughter and eat. Be careful...we might...accidentally apply the same judgment to your people."

Gral scoffed contemptuously. "The mudbaths of Tellar are renowned throughout the quadrant. Even the humans seem to enjoy them very much and they are not to be slaughtered and eaten at all. No, it is you who are too stupid to keep as a pet. Oh, maybe some powerful ancient race might like to use you, but we, as a young race, know much better than that!"

It was getting more and more difficult for Clark to maintain his veneer as a seasoned politician. He had once read of how the first prime minister of India hosted a banquet for the revolutionary Che Guevara. The only words that came out of Jawaharlal Nehru's mouth were about the food. Finally, Che couldn't stand it anymore and asked, "Mr. Prime Minister, what is your opinion of Communist China?" Nehru listened and answered, "Mr. Comandante, have you tasted one of these delicious apples?" "Mr. Prime Minister, have you read Mao Tse-tung?" "Ah, Mr. Comandante, how pleased I am that you have liked the apples."

Senator Clark knew that he absolutely did not have Prime Minister Nehru's talent for ignoring uncomfortable questions and comments. Worse, he could see that bitch of a presidential hopeful, Senator Marie Crane, watching his interaction with interest. He was about to start an interstellar incident with Ambassador Gral when he was saved by a chirp from within the Tellarite's right sleeve.

Looking annoyed, Gral pulled up his sleeve and raised his forearm to his mouth. Clark could see that he had a communicator held onto the forearm with a band.

"What is it? This better be good!"

_"Ambassador, the Vulcans are leaving!"_

Clark had the pleasure of seeing Gral's face going slack with shock. "If those green-blooded robots don't think it's worth staying, then the dead counterpart of our homeworld is not worth our lives after all! Leave the second Tellar to the crazy boneheads!"

_"What about you, Ambassador?"_

"Don't leave me here! Use your muddy brain, fool!"

A tone of apology: _"Of course, Ambassador."_

Clark and nearby bystanders were now alarmed. If the Vulcans were leaving and the Tellarites would follow them—! "Ambassador! Don't be a coward! You promised to 'save' Signet 5 for yourself! If you leave, the alliance between the Earth Alliance and Tellar is over!"

Senator Marie Crane was now more alarmed at Clark's conduct than at the news of the Vulcan and Tellarite departure. She was not about to let Morgan Clark to singlehandedly destroy a much needed alliance in the middle of a war. "Senator Clark!"

Gral chuckled, ignoring Marie's protest. "So be it. Senator, we may be a bovine species, but we are not cows. You should be calling us 'pigards'. Goodbye, Senator Weasel." With that, a pillar of sparkling purple light surrounded the Tellarite ambassador, surprising all who could see. The purple light sparkles increased, covering up Gral and then faded, taking the Tellarite with them.

Clark and Crane stared dumbly, their mouths hanging open in shock. Gral was as gone as...as a ghost! The waiters and the other passengers fearfully sidled back away from the site of the ambassador's transport. However, only the two Vree representatives slowly came closer, taking a keen and knowing interest.

xxxxxxxxx

Tellarite gunships everywhere began to disengage and maneuver their individual ways out of the battle melée, taking only potshots at the Minbari. Once clear of obstacles, each of them went to warp, shocking both EarthForce and the Minbari for different reasons.

The surviving remnants of the Starfleet task force wasn't too surprised. But the Andorians raged against Tellarite treachery and cowardice just as they raged against the Vulcan withdrawal.

Many of the EarthForce ships, robbed of their tie-in with Tellarite subspace sensors, were suddenly unable to target Minbari warcruisers. Their fight became a rout as ship after ship was destroyed while others desperately tried to make a sensor tie with remaining Starfleet ships, the Andorians and those Earth ships still tied to their subspace sensors. Weapons fire from EarthForce became all the more intense. Several even began ramming runs at certain warcruisers.

Meanwhile, heavily damaged Starfleet vessels were forced to withdraw as well, robbing still more EarthForce ships of the subspace sensor tie-ins. If they had stayed to fight, they would have lost their warp capability, consigning themselves to certain death at the hand of the Minbari.

The damaged Enterprise labored to transport survivors off of disabled allied ships even as the Minbari began to destroy escape pods from other ships. The Columbia cooperated in this, having come to the conclusion that the battle was lost. They would stay and continue fighting and rescuing until their warp cores threatened to shut down from too much battle damages.

By this time, EarthForce has lost 96 capitol ships, out of the original fleet of 186, and the losses were still increasing.

Several more jumppoints opened, admitting Minbari warcruisers and finally and mercifully, no more came. By now, the Minbari fleet had 243 ships, not counting Nial fighters, completely replacing Branmer's vast losses and adding a lot more to his 'Ever-Victorious Fleet'.

**Centauri Royal Ship Dargan**

The Vorchan attack cruiser's captain had been patient for as long as he could stand. Oz Cotto had seen the flight of the Vulcans and Tellarites. Clearly, the battle was lost for both the Earthers and the Coalitioners. He had no desire to wait around and see its increasingly inevitable conclusion.

Great Maker, Oz was not going to wait for the Minbari to possibly decide to punish him for watching! He wasn't about to leave his nephew, Vir, without a father figure on Centauri Prime.

"Activate jumpengines."

"Yes, milord. What about the Narn ship?"

"Oh," Oz chuckled mischievously, "I've bribed someone on it to sabotage their jumpengines. Centauri ducats, after all, do still count in the Narn Regime." He laughed at the irony of that as his attack cruiser turned and dove into an open jumppoint.

xxxxxxxxx

The retreat became a rout. This caused EarthForce captains and starfury pilots to alternately beg and curse their allies and fellows. On the Fantasia, frightened civilians and frightened crewmates alike pushed and shoved to get the starliner to get away from Signet. Unfortunately, in the panicked rush to force Captain Strom to turn the starliner around to the jumpgate, Senator Rush was trampled to death. And he was not the only passenger or crewman to fall victim to the rising panic on the Fantasia.

Senator Marie Crane had quickly enlisted three of her colleagues to try and turn their allies back to the battle. Through individual comstations, they called to Starfleet, to the Tellarites, the Vulcans, the Andorians and even some of the EarthForce ships. They tried to tell them that there was no danger, they called them to stop and implored them to stand and fight. They called them cowards, denounced them in the most offensive terms. Senator Marie even threatened to train the starliner's laser cannons on them.

Only the Andorians promised to stay as long as they could.

Marie Crane finally slumped at her comstation, sobbing, not caring whether others could see her in that state as they ran back and forth. The battle had begun with so much promise. It had even come to the edge of victory. The universe played the cruelest of tricks on the Earth Alliance by handing out very generous doses of hope and then snatching them all out of the Earthers' grasp.

"Cruel...crazy...madness...hopeless..." She looked up as the Abbai Ambassador Kalika ran alongside an Earth movie star and a Hyach past the slumped senator, their eyes twitching in frenzied fright. She muttered as she looked down and sobbed some more. "Madness...ghastly madness..."

**EAS Katana, General Vargas' command ship**

The Nova-class destroyer shook as it was hit again. An explosion erupted at the tactical station. Fortunately, or perhaps not fortunately, the explosion wasn't enough to take the Katana out of action. But it was enough to strike down the executive officer. General Vargas's face was looking grim. This was the end and he knew it.

A small comscreen activated at the now unmanned communications station. It was Captain Archer, looking as grim as Vargas. A purpling bruise was swelling on a side of his forehead. Vargas could see that the starship was enduring enemy hits. _"This is the United Earth Ship Enterprise relaying orders from Earth Central. EarthForce Command has been apprised of the situation here and it is ordering all ships to retreat. Repeat, all ships retreat!"_

Face hardening, Vargas turned to look defiantly at the warcruisers looming in his viewer. One of the warcruisers was the Shargotti that had been here since the beginning. It had to be the Minbari flagship.

Another hit shook the Katana, loosening a support beam. It fell, killing the helmsman. The general wordlessly freed himself from his chair harnesses and quickly went over to the helm station. He silently thanked Starfleet for providing the gravity platings. Somehow, with strength lent by adrenaline, he groaningly shoved the beam aside, then pushed the mangled body out of the chair, not seeing the helmsman at all. Ignoring the blood smearing the console, he worked the helm controls. He looked up at the Minbari Shargotti warcruiser with steel in his eyes.

_"Repeat, all ships retreat!"_

General Vargas softly said, "Like hell."

He fired the engines and held onto the helm console as the ship was hit by neutron fire once more.

Minbari fighters pressed in closer and continued to fire at the onrushing Katana. Realizing that the Nova destroyer, flames belching out of gashes in its armor, was fatally aimed at Warleader Branmer's flagship, a nearby Sharlin rushed to block its path.

The burning Earth ship rammed into the Sharlin's front port side. Both ships became stuck in a flaming embrace of death as they veered past Branmer's ship, twisted metal and glittering crystal shards and broken parts tumbling away in their wake. Another Sharlin tried to get out of the way of the slow but deadly waltz. It was too late. They hit it, creating a mini-solar blast. The heat of the blast melted the nearer crystalline parts of Branmer's flagship.

General Getulio Vargas' suicide run marked the formal end of the Battle of Signet.

The Battle of Signet would become known in history as 'Signet Run.'

**UES Sarajevo NC-27**

Red alert lights winked on and off throughout the small ship. The Sarajevo kept shaking from multiple hits by swarming Minbari fighters. Occasionally, sparks would brighten the dim bridge.

Robert Martin barely noticed the captain's body slumped in her chair, dead from a piece of shrapnel in the head. The commander was on the floor, groaning and close to unconsciousness. The lieutenant now had the right to take command of the corvette, but he preferred to focus on shooting down the Nial fighters.

Nevertheless he had to take command or the ship would flounder to its fiery death. He squinted at an explosion in the main viewer. "One enemy target destroyed. Loading tubes one and two." He looked up at the surviving bridge officers. "Report!"

An ensign at the science station, face frightfully pale, said, "Hull breach on B deck…emergency bulkheads are engaged!"

"Concentrate all fire on the Minbari. Firing the tubes."

"Hull plating's at thirty-two percent!" The ensign looked up from his console at Martin. "Lieutenant…there's a jumppoint opening behind us!"

"Our reinforcement…?" asked Martin hopefully. He refused to believe that the allies made the mistake of not keeping reserves nearby. He also refused to believe that the Minbari could be smarter than the allies in that respect.

The ensign's face sagged. "No."

On the main viewer, the new jumppoint opened and tore at another NC-class corvette, destroying it. The Sarajevo shook as it evaded the new warcruiser's fire.

"Lieutenant, Captain Archer ordered us to retreat. We must go!"

"No, Zarov." The lieutenant didn't like the idea of running with his tail down between his legs.

Zarov gasped. "Lieutenant—!"

The helmsman looked around at the two officers staring at each other, the lieutenant with a hard face and the ensign with shock. Screw this. She quickly input the coordinates and fired the impulse engines, bringing the ship out of the battle.

The Sarajevo's engines soon thrummed with a new sound.

Martin recognized the sound and feeling. He snapped his attention to the helmsman. "Ensign! I didn't order you to go to warp!"

The helmsman stared stonily back at the lieutenant, her eyes defying the lieutenant.

Lt. Martin saw that there was nothing he could do except to put her under arrest for insubordination, possibly even mutiny. And that would backfire on him, seeing as he had disobeyed Captain Archer's order to retreat. He sat on his stool and crossed his arms, glaring at his mental image of the Minbari.

**EAS Alamo**

Tylor also would have preferred to stay and fight to the end. He wanted the Minbari to pay for every square inch of Earth Alliance space they took.

But it meant disobeying Earth Central's order to retreat. If he stayed, he would not only be disobeying his superior officers, but also wasting a much needed capitol ship and depriving EarthForce of the chance to use it against the Boneys in a much better way than this battle had gone.

"Commander…." Captain Tylor's throat almost caught at his decision. "Activate jumpengines. We're going home."

xxxxxxxxx

The remaining remnants of the Starfleet task force tried its best to cover the retreat while many of the EarthForce ships and fighters stayed to fight against increasingly worse odds as ships that once supplied subspace sensor readings were gone, either fled or destroyed. Many of the remaining EarthForce ships despaired, followed Vargas' example and rammed into Minbari warcruisers, exacting a heavier cost on the Minbari victory.

**AIW Thori**

The Andorian warship lurched and Commander A'sh had to keep himself from being catapulted out of his chair. The Imperial Guard was now down to four warships. The Minbari were proving as difficult and obstinate as the Romulans.

"Commander!" called B'cade. "Captain Shran is ordering a retreat!"

A'sh's antennae lowered themselves to point at B'cade, indicating his angry frustration at the situation. He nodded and said, "Tell Shran we're covering the retreat."

One of B'cade's antennae rose questioningly. Realizing what A'sh's order meant for the crew of the Thori, he stood straighter and nodded. It was not possible to go to the escape pods. There was no time and, besides, the Minbari would then leisurely shoot down each of the escape pods, making their evacuation and death meaningless and pointless.

A'sh saw that B'cade's sentiment was shared by the rest of his crew. He felt proud of his fellow Guards. "Lieutenant, on my order, deactivate the magnetic fields in the warp core."

"Yes, sir."

The Andorian warship turned to aim at the densest part of the enemy fleet. The engines at its rear glowed more brightly and the Thoricharged into the Minbari ranks. Its skin-hugging shields flared at each shot from enemy fighters and capitol ships. Disruptors and torpedoes lashed out, shaving a path for itself.

Once the Thori reached the targeted part of the Minbari ranks, Commander A'sh stood from his chair and said, "We may not have the honor of having our blood spilled on the Wall of Heroes, but our spirit shall be honored by Andorians everywhere."

Two Sharlins began to overshadow the Andorian warship, preparing to eliminate it.

"B'cade…now."

In the Andorian engine room, the engineers stood and watched the warp core, impassively aware of their impending fate. In the warp core, the magnetic fields keeping the antimatter from meeting the surrounding matter snapped off.

The avian form of the warship became a blinding white flare reaching far out into the Minbari fleet. When the light faded, melted crystal shards glittered in its wake. They were all that were left of five warcruisers. Several more warcruisers survived the blast but they were disabled, missing some of their drive fins or depressurized.

**UES Enterprise NX-01**

Colonel Benjamin Alford stumbled out of the starship's armory, stunned at the news of the defeat. He walked down the corridor in a daze. Not seeing where he was going, he somehow found himself at his cabin's door.

He stepped through the door and looked at the oblong window. The sight of the stars stretching into starlines running past the Enterprise brought the reality of the defeat home to him. The sight also brought another realization home to him.

They had to abandon the MACOs at Signet 4.

Alford turned around to lock the door to make sure no one would disturb him. He then went to sit on his bed. The starlines sweeping past the window seemed to mock him. He turned away from the sight, broke down and wept for the abandoned MACOs.

It would be months before the Minbari finally expunged all armed resistance, mostly guerrilla actions, on Signet 4, an underdeveloped human colony of thousands.

**Minbari Command Ship Regatta**

Kneeling, Warleader Branmer clutched his own body as he gazed upon burning and twisted wreckages of all the battle's participants, upon the ruins of his once proud 'Ever-Victorious Fleet' in the holodisplay. The wreckages of the various fleets floated or drifted dead in space. Some of the ships and fighters were still sparking with dying power. Debris wandered among them. A few appeared to still have flames burning inside but they were slowly going out as the fire ran out of objects and air to consume. He cried out his pained rage. He brandished a fist at Earth's alien mercenaries and denounced them as servants of the Earthers' barbaric savagery, even as servants of the legendary Shadows, and vowed to have his vengeance upon them.

He rose back on his feet, trembling with barely repressed fury, his fist still clenched and his face a dark storm-head. He would have his vengeance.

It was a victory for the Minbari, but he knew it was a Pyrrhic victory.

**Grey Council Command Ship Valen'tha**

Satai Morann was jubilant.

"We," he told his colleagues in the Grey Council, eyes gleaming with triumph, "trembled at fighting five different alien fleets all at once. We have met the grand alliance of the enemy, routed it at every point, and it now flees, inglorious in retreat before our victorious ships. We have taught them a lesson in their defiance of the Minbari people's holy justice."

In the surrounding holodisplay, yellow human jumppoints opened and closed everywhere while the inhuman aliens activated their strange and frightening FTL engines, leaving dozens of false flaring stars in their wakes. Transports and flyers were now departing many of the Minbari warcruisers to deposit ground troops on the fourth planet of the Signet System.

Delenn had forced herself to watch the entire battle. At a later point, she had kept herself from crying out or running off by jamming her fists at her mouth. So much death on both sides. She instantly knew that the Minbari people would cry out in anger at the destruction of every warcruiser, at the death of every Minbari in the Signet System. Madness. Madness. "But...but... Valen's name, Morann, look at all this...!"

He proudly looked around at the holodisplay. Some warcruisers and fighters were now sweeping through the battlespace crowded with broken ships, searching for non-Minbari survivors to vengefully finish off. "Yes. I admit that at one point, the battle was not going well, but we saw, we came, and we won!"

Delenn's expression now called into question Morann's sanity. "Valen's name... This—this is a Tuzanor victory!"

It _was_ so much like the battle that Minbari once fought among themselves in the valley where the city of Tuzanor now stood. That valley's ground had absorbed the blood of over a million Minbari warriors in the battle, demanding a cost so high that it forced Minbar to re-evaluate its values and to build a city of sorrows on the battlefield.

Most of the others in the Grey Council were looking troubled as well. All were thinking one thought that they dared not voice yet. If the presence of Earth's new alien allies, the Vulcans, Andorians, and Tellarites had cost Minbar's first Tuzanor victory since the last war with the Shadows a thousand years before, what would other battles in this present war be like?


	13. Revelations

**Grey Council Command Ship Valen'tha, at the end of Signet Run**

Delenn moved through the Valen'tha's corridors briskly. She came to the doors of the shrine that Lenonn had created in the memory of Dukhat. Two members of the Religious Caste stood in front of the doors, dressed in the garb of temple guards. Since the death of Lenonn, she had been the only one with access to the faithful recreation of Dukhat's sanctum.

The temple guards quickly stepped out of Delenn's way. The shrine to Dukhat's memory was still the same as before, still pristine and clean. On the wall in front of her, pure white wall hangings were arranged in folds and stretched across the wall to outline the shape of a triangle. A crystal gem in the center of the triangle said that the shape was intended to resemble the triluminary, the holiest of Minbar's relics.

She looked around at Dukhat's quarters, squinting through the dimness. She hoped that the Vorlons were in the shadows.

"What do I do?"

Silence.

"Where are you?"

She waited. Nothing.

Delenn began to fidget, getting upset. She was now feeling too much like a little girl when she lost her father in the city of Tuzanor and sought refuge and comfort in one of its many temples. She had a vision of Valen in that temple and that immensely reassured and inspired her. This time, she was losing her people in the madness of war and she was seeking comfort from the Vorlons in Dukhat's shrine.

"Are you here?"

All she could see were shadows in the sanctum and she heard nothing at all. Delenn's heart sank and she turned to leave.

Kosh was standing there in his encounter suit, startling her, his single green eye glowing from within his headpiece.

The chimes and tones of an orchestra played just below the range of her hearing. **"We have always been here."**

A breeze tickled at the back of her robes and she turned again. The other Vorlon was standing behind her, his dark blue-purple encounter suit still appearing slightly disturbing, even menacing. Ulkesh's glowing red eye silently stared down at Delenn.

How did they move so silently and unseen?

Feeling hemmed in, she stepped out from between the two Vorlons, turned and bowed her head in respect. "We…we…my people have lost so much here. The new aliens have cost us so much…. It has revitalized and expanded our holy war. It is as in the beginning: the battle has stoked our hatred, our anger, our…madness. The cost of fighting them will be terrible. It will weigh heavily on us, on our souls. We…I…need help. If you were to show yourself, stand by my side, we could make a separate peace with the humans. We could then deal with the interfering aliens before they darken our souls. You could—"

She stopped herself, realizing what she was about to ask.

The two Vorlons simply looked at her, inscrutable in their encounter suits.

Delenn wondered if she could dare to ask that question to the Vorlon, ask it of those who had been giants walking the stars for unknown eons, who had visited worlds without number, who had guided her people ever since Valen appeared out of nowhere, who made even the terrible Shadows tremble before their light and power.

The two ancient and powerful beings still stood, looking at her, waiting.

"Y-you could stand with us…stand with us and deliver the lessons that the new aliens need to learn." Delenn knew she was only delaying, building up her strength to ask the question, so she forced herself to speak it. "Can you not aid us by sending ships?"

She held her breath. As far as she knew, the Vorlon Empire has never gone to war. In the last war against the Shadows, they had only helped the Minbari and their allies from behind the scenes. No direct involvement in their battles. What she was asking is tantamount to breaking that tradition of direct non-involvement.

Kosh and Ulkesh slowly and ponderously turned to look at each other. They then slowly turned back to the Minbari woman studying them with held breath. Their sedate movement, like all manner of things related to the Vorlons, was filled with portent.

Tinkling musical tones, like the sighing of stringed instruments, rose from glittering lights in a panel on Kosh's encounter suit. **"We are not prepared yet."**

"When can you be prepared?" That was said outright without any thought. Delenn was chagrined at this momentary disrespectful pushiness. "I-I apologize." The Vorlons showed no reaction so she continued. "I feel that we will need your help against the new aliens. We cannot afford to throw away too many of our people and ships. We have been preparing for a thousand years to face the next rising of the Darkness. If this war cost us too much, we won't be…." Delenn's fear of the coming war with the Shadows caught in her throat. "If too many of us should die, we won't be prepared to face down the Shadows. This time, we have no Valen to lead us. We have prophecies of Valen's return, but…it has been a thousand years. Dukhat was the closest we could ever have for that role, but he's dead." She added with a whisper, "Murdered."

"**Yes. We are still few. It is not our time,"** said Kosh.

The other Vorlon looked at his colleague, narrowing his iris, then turned to Delenn. **"The Newcomers are not of our Circle."**

Was that anger tingeing Ulkesh's voice? What kind of 'yes' did Kosh intend? Was he agreeing with her argument or with her request for military assistance or with the needlessly obvious fact that Dukhat has been murdered? She whispered, puzzled, "'Not of our Circle'?" She remembered from her studies of the very few available records of the Vorlons that they called the universe a circle, encompassing all events, all actions and all thoughts within it. A dawning realization caused her to gasp, her hand fluttering to her mouth. It was crazy but it made sense. It fit the new aliens' odd and truly alien technology, their utter apparent lack of jump technology. What Ulkesh was saying was that the aliens, the Newcomers as he all too fittingly called them, came from another universe!

Kosh inclined his head slowly towards Delenn. **"You understand now."**

No wonder the Vorlons were 'not prepared' and reluctant to lend their physical aid! The Grey Council must learn of this! But how? She was still only one voice and she needed evidence. They must capture some of the Newcomers for questioning. It was then she remembered that the aliens had landed some troops on the fourth planet of this system.

Kosh nodded once more as if he knew what she was thinking. He probably did. With Vorlons, anything was presumed possible. **"It is your time. Go."**

Delenn swiftly left the sanctum.

Kosh Naranek turned to look at Ulkesh Naranek who was looking at the doors which had closed behind the departing Minbari. They were not friends but they respected each other. He was aware of the differences between them. Ulkesh was the more militant of the two and he was very isolationist, whereas Kosh was the curious one, interested in the younger races and more willing to extend himself for their sake. As the Naranek, the exiled flame-bearer, he had always felt he should help the younger races awaken themselves and achieve enlightenment. He saw himself as the flaming candle sent out of the Celestial Empire to light the unlit souls of the younger races. He hoped that one day, some of them will awake, understand their potential and become the flame that he was now.

Kosh knew that Ulkesh thought he was too soft. He was always worried what Ulkesh would do without his moderating influence. He was even possibly dangerous. Even so, Kosh was capable of admitting that both of them were right in their own ways.

"**The Newcomers,"** said Ulkesh at last, **"will contaminate the Circle."**

"**Yes,"** said Kosh. Their quantum analysis of the alien vessels confirmed that.** "The seeds have been sown for the coming crops. A new time is coming. Disturbing. But there is no darkness so thick that it can put the Light out. The Revelation and the Enlightenment will still come."**

Ulkesh slowly swiveled his head, narrowing his red eye at his fellow Vorlon, indicating his suspicion and disagreement. **"Perhaps. Remember the Door."**

Kosh inclined his head, conceding the point. The frightening memory still vibrated throughout the Vorlon Commonality. It was the first of many mistakes, but it was one of the most damaging to the Circle. It even caused a brief civil war within the Celestial Empire as Vorlons fight and killed Vorlons. The shame of those fallen Vorlons still reverberated in the Commonality. It was fortunate that this latest intrusion was not done by the fell forces of the demons who called themselves the Yonji Sinhindrea.

The Vorlon Commonality remembered an ancient joke from the early days when the Vorlons were creating a glittering interstellar empire, a kingdom of conscience, a kingdom of heaven where need, sickness and death became unknown. It went: What can trouble paradise? Answer: a Vorlon gone mad—something that was thought to be impossible.

Until the opening of the Door.

Naturally, the joke had soured since then.

Ulkesh continued, **"The contamination is a danger. Should we allow it to taint the Circle, it will be as the sand thrown against the wind."**

Kosh had to admit the possibility, though he doubted that the Newcomers would be as evil as Ulkesh seemed to think. They were not as powerful as they could be.

Not yet anyway.

The memory of the Door made for the Vorlons to touch the True Source held a little too strongly in Ulkesh. It needed to be countered even though he had to agree with him fundamentally. Kosh said, **"This is a matter for the Synod."**

"**Yes. I will attend to the Synod. Adon will agree to the High Command's increase. The number intended for the next quarrel will come sooner."**

Surprise rang throughout Kosh's being. What Ulkesh was saying was that he thought he could easily persuade Adon, the High Vorlon in the Synod, to order the High Command to step up the military buildup for coming war with the Shadows. The Celestial Empire, he was saying, could then use some of the military buildup to resolve the problem of the Newcomers.

No one had ever survived a war with the Vorlon Empire.

He hoped that wouldn't bode ill for his faction within the Commonality and for the worlds of the younger races. Kosh inclined his head once more. **"I will attend to the young ones here. You will go to Vorlon Prime."**

"**Yes,"** said Ulkesh as if it could not be otherwise at all.

Perhaps he was right, Kosh thought.

**Signet 4**

In a conquered clearing on the fourth planet of the Signet System, an army of Minbari Warriors in full regalia was gathered around a small hill. On the crest of the hill, a large canvas was hung on vertical poles to serve as a backdrop wall. It bore a silver crescent moon in a black vertical oval, the sign of the Moon Shields, Shai Alyt Morzat's clan. In front of the cloth wall was the body of Morzat in an open crystal coffin, visible to all in the army. The coffin lid was on the ground amid objects brought by Branmer who had begun the funerary preparations of Morzat's body.

Out of the reddening evening sky, a black raven, one of the many animals imported by humans to Signet 4, flew to alight on top of the hung canvas and cawed.

Delenn, one of the few non-Warriors at the event and anonymous in her grey hooded robe among her fellow Grey Councilors, looked up at the raven, then at Warleader Branmer. She stepped aside close to another grey hooded and robed satai. She kept her voice low so as not to be overheard by anyone else.

"What will he do now?"

The grey councilor turned a hooded head slightly in surprise to Delenn. "What will he _do_?"

"Branmer."

Branmer, at that moment, was gently laying a ceremonial sword onto Morzat's unmoving torso.

"Look at him, Jenimer. He is performing the rituals to preserve Morzat's body as if he's still a Priest in the Religious Caste."

The warleader lit a thin wooden taper and then touched it onto a conical pile of powder in a flat triangular crystal bowl. The cone of incense ignited.

The satai for the Worker Caste sighed and evaded Delenn's pointed comment. "His pride suffered at the battle. Morzat is only one of the many who died under his personal command. The body is only a symbol of the many who died in this system. He is honoring all who have fallen in battle."

The raven atop the hung canvas cawed briefly as it appeared to watch the funeral preparations.

Pain entered Jenimer's voice. "What _else_ would you have Branmer do, Delenn? He may be a Warrior, but he's still a holy man."

Branmer held up a bowl of flower petals to the setting sun, reached into the bowl and grabbed a handful of petals. He scattered them to the wind. Each petal represented a Minbari soul returning to the Source.

Delenn looked around at the somber crowd of Minbari Warriors assembled to watch Branmer's ritual preparations. To keep her persona as an anonymous member of the Grey Council, she took care not to call attention to her hooded head movement. "A holy man who felt the call of the Warrior Caste in his heart upon Dukhat's death. A holy man who became a holy warrior who believed in our invincibility and the holiness of our cause against the humans. A holy warrior who watched the same humans and their alien allies destroy a fleet that he has personally gathered. And then Branmer swore he would hunt these aliens down and destroy them. _That_ is the action of a Warrior, not a Priest."

The subject of her quiet conversation tenderly picked up Morzat's hands and crossed them over the ceremonial sword.

She now turned her face up at Branmer on top of the small hill. "And yet…_this_."

The warleader's face showed no emotion as he studied Morzat's inanimate face.

"Perhaps," said Jenimer, "he performs the rituals to temper his own grief."

"Or perhaps," countered Delenn, "because he is lost and knows no other way."

Branmer dipped a small white cloth into a bowl of powdered crystal.

"I _fear_ for him, Jenimer. Branmer has always been guided by his _faith_."

Branmer then used the cloth to carefully caress Morzat's face and hands. When the body is in darkness or each time night has fallen on his coffin, the powdered crystal would glow for a hundred years.

Delenn looked at Branmer again, remembering the Vorlons' revelation and the need for evidence to back it up. This time, Jenimer looked at him as well. She said, "Now that his faith in our invincibility and in the order of the universe has been shattered…."

The raven flapped its wings and flew off into the darkening red evening sky. Some of the brighter stars had begun to appear.

"…what _will_ he do now?"

His funerary preparation of Morzat's body finished, Branmer stood back and bowed deeply to the body in its crystal coffin.

**Signet 4, four months after 'Signet Run'**

Delenn of Mir looked out through the window of her quarters in the Grey Council warcruiser. Her reflection on the window was superimposed on the wreckages still littering the Signet System. Among them, Worker Caste flyers and transports flitted, sweeping through the cemetery of ships for samples to study. Even as she watched, a warcruiser activated its four tractor beams and began to haul in a shipwreck belonging to the extra-universal aliens.

So far, the proof she needed to show that the new aliens were from another universe hasn't materialized. Oh, evidence was all around her among the wreckages, but it was proof that would be difficult to get.

She heard the door open behind her. Delenn turned to see who it was. It was an acolyte of the Religious Caste attached to the Grey Council. The acolyte kept his eyes properly and respectfully lowered to avoid seeing Delenn's face.

"I apologize for the intrusion, Satai. But you wanted to know when we have captured a human soldier not of the Earther military."

Immediately, Delenn stood up from her seat, galvanized by the acolyte's words. "Have we?"

"Yes, Satai. We are holding several in one of the isolated towns on the planet below."

In her excitement, she forgot to thank the acolyte as she went out past him to board her flyer.

xxxxxxxx

Escorted by two Nials, Delenn's flyer went over the mountains and dense forest of Signet 4. The planet was mostly mountains and forest with large lakes and very few navigable rivers. Over the months since the battle with the Earthers and their allies, Minbari Warriors made their way through the terrain to subdue the colony. This was made difficult by the fact that the two human species had resorted to hit-and-run tactics, refusing the honor of an open battlefield.

She had heard of such style of combat called guerrilla warfare among the Earthers.

Her flyer descended down into a canyon. Hugging a mountain side was a tiny town, a village really, surrounded by terraced farmlands. In the colony's roster, the place was called Higginsville. The flyer landed on one of the farm terraces.

Upon exiting the flyer, Delenn was hit by the heat. She knew that Minbar would feel generally cold to humans and Centauri, but Signet 4 was one of the warmer worlds of the Earth Alliance, even by human standards. Gasping at the heat, she was met by a Minbari named Sonovar. He did not avert his eyes from her face. All he knew was that the Minbari woman he was meeting was merely an emissary of a ministry attached to the Grey Council.

"Delenn, it is dangerous for you to come here now." Sonovar then belatedly bowed his respect as if it was an afterthought. Delenn didn't mind that. He was, after all, young and had the arrogance of youth. "There is still combat in the valley below. Two more of our Warriors have just been killed there."

Indeed, she could hear weapons fire from below her. The familiar whines and whistles of energy weapons and the unfamiliar harsh staccato of primitive projectile weapons. She looked down but treetops blocked her view. Then, in the distance below, a cloud of fire billowed up through the treetops, scorching the leaves, accompanied by the sound of an explosion.

The humans, though primitive, had versatile weapons suited for planetary combat. Delenn shuddered to think of what they could do to Minbari bodies.

"Take me to the prisoners."

Sonovar bowed his head once and lead her into the village of Higginsville. There were only Minbari among the tiny houses, the human colonists having long ago fled into the forest and mountains. There was very little technology to be found there except for a two-way radio for contact with the larger settlements of the colony. Soon, they came upon one of the smaller, but more sturdily built, buildings, which was centrally situated in the village. Oddly, the place was painted red with stylized colorful flowers. Delenn could see that a bell was hung inside its own tiny open air housing on the roof. A rope, tied to the bell, hung down to beside the entrance inside.

Primitive, indeed.

"Sonovar, is this an Earther temple?"

"No," replied Sonovar, showing contempt at the building. "It is one of their education centers. They call it a…a schoolhouse."

Inside the dim schoolhouse, Delenn could see a human man lying on his side on the floor and against the wall under a large panel that appeared to be made of a black stone, his arms tied behind his back and his feet bound together. His left leg was oozing blood. His stained, filthy and torn uniform was clearly not EarthForce, having splotches of various shades of green and brown. It was something that Minbari did not use: a low-tech way of camouflage among the planet's foliage.

He didn't look impressive to Delenn. The human was a mess. Hair matted with mud, clothes ragged and torn. This was what the Minbari had been fighting on the planet for the past four months?

As she gazed upon her first extra-universal human, the only sound in the room was his breathing.

Next to him were the bodies of two dead humans, similarly clothed. Disgusted, she turned to Sonovar and gestured a question at them. She didn't ask for corpses to interrogate.

"Ah…," Sonovar began, "the Wind Sword clan has requested…_samples_ for study. The Wind Swords have a specialist for such examinations."

A specialist? Delenn had heard rumors of that. At the beginning of the war, the Wind Swords had come to the Grey Council, offering new terrible weapons for use against the Earthers. Even though the Council was part of the madness that swept up her people at Dukhat's death, it had mercifully refused to use them. They were too terrible. "Is this the only one alive?"

"No." Sonovar gestured at a closed door. "There is another one in there. And a few more in certain houses here. They are either unhurt or wounded. However, this one here seems to be the leader of the group."

Delenn nodded, staring at the bound human lying on the floor against a wall. She had been studying a bit of the Earther main languages, but not enough to speak well. Now that she was here, how would she question him effectively?

As if reading her mind, Sonovar withdrew a small alien device from within his robes. It was a little larger than his hand, round and its face glowed blue. "This is apparently capable of linguistic translation. We have sent other such devices to Minbar for study by the Worker Caste."

In the round blue screen, Delenn could see odd calligraphic squiggles. From what she knew of the humans, the script wasn't like any of the major Earth languages.

Seeing her curiosity, Sonovar said, "It's not human technology. The Earthers do seem to have something similar, but the technology is not as sophisticated. The device is…Vulcan." The last word was said with meaningful emphasis.

She knew that most Minbari, including Sonovar apparently, thought that the humans with the odd advanced vessels were merely Earthers who had been equipped and uplifted by the Vulcans. That was a topic better left for later and for the Grey Council. "How does it work?" Delenn asked.

Sonovar now looked as if he was a child about to spring a delightful surprise on his friends. "Observe." He turned to face the human and held the round device purposefully up so that it was directly between himself and the prisoner.

"You seem depressed," said Sonovar gloatingly in Feek, the Warrior tongue, "Explain why you are depressed."

Delenn didn't think much of his gloat. She thought it was unseemly for him to gloat over a defeated prisoner as if Sonovar was a member of the lesser races like the Narns or Centauri instead of the Minbari. Before she could rebuke Sonovar, she was surprised to hear the human speak perfect Adronato, the language of the Religious Caste.

" I've failed to stop you. That's why.>"

Totally forgetting the planet's heat and Sonovar's bad manners, Delenn stared at the human in shock, wide-eyed and open-mouthed. Adronato was a complex language that would take aliens years to master if they didn't choose to have a dataport surgically implanted and download the language directly. But this human spoke perfect, flawless, Adronato without any accent!

Sonovar looked close to laughing at Delenn's reaction. "What did you hear?"

"He…he spoke Adronato!"

Sonovar nodded knowingly. "Adronato is your primary language. Mine is Feek and that is what I heard him speak." Holding up the round white and blue alien device, he said, "We've made field tests of this just before you came. At the very same time, when he speaks, I would hear Feek, you would hear Adronato and a Worker would hear Lennau." Then a troubled look came over his face as he looked down at the device. "This says much of the Vulcan civilization. It is now more important than ever for us to find their homeworld and force them to acknowledge our natural superiority."

A Minbari in Warrior garb appeared at the schoolhouse's entrance. "Excuse me. Sonovar, you are needed at the commstation. It is Callier."

Sonovar now tried to look imperious but only succeeded to look smug. Callier was one of the ruling Elders of the Warrior Caste with direct connections with the Grey Council. He thrust the translator out to Delenn. "Here. You will need it."

Again, Delenn didn't care for Sonovar's arrogance. If he knew that she was one of the Nine, he'd be down on his hands and knees, raining kisses on the hem of her robes and expressing his hopes for service on the Valen'tha itself.

Alone now, she held up the translator between herself and the prisoner who had been watching them all this time. "Who are you?"

" Michael Dean, a Corporal of the United Earth Military Assault Command Operation, Signet 4 Fifth Column.>" He shrugged uncaringly. " Call me Iceman, if you like.>"

Iceman? Delenn was confused now. The human's name was Michael Dean but he wanted her to call him something that's not his name and was related to a combination of a man and frozen water? Must be an incomprehensible culture thing, she decided. "Why are you here?"

Mike looked up at Delenn wryly. " Isn't it obvious? You captured me.>"

"No. Why did you choose to fight here instead of staying in your own universe?"

A dawning look crossed Mike's face. " Ah. You know.>" He shrugged again. " There was a battle to be fought here. Maybe it could have gone better. Maybe not.>"

If Delenn had human eyebrows, she would have frowned. The human was evading her question. Meanwhile, he was still speaking.

" There wouldn't be a battle here if it wasn't for you. Not you personally, of course, but your people.>"

She said nothing. He didn't know about her role in pursuing this war against the humans, something she was not proud of. _Kill them all! No mercy! No mercy…!_

And she wasn't about to enlighten him.

" The Earthers have asked to negotiate a ceasefire with you over and over. They've even tried to surrender over and over. You didn't listen at all. You just kept steamrolling over their colonies. Then you attacked one of our starships and declared war on us and on the Vulcans. What were we supposed to do? Just stay home and let you massacre the Earthers? Now I know that the Earthers shot first, but that doesn't warrant genocide, does it? Perhaps if we knew exactly why, we could—>"

Delenn cut Mike off. "I would prefer not to refer to that topic." The Earthers did not know the terrible crime of murdering Dukhat and they, as the murderers, didn't deserve to know that crime. Michael, as a human not of Earth, deserved even less to know. "In any event, we are only vaccinating this part of the galaxy against savagery."

The human looked up at her with disbelief.

"You are invading our universe. You are even more alien than the aliens that inhabit our universe, more alien than even the Earthers in spite of your human nature. You are interfering with Minbari justice. Until your people learn to value your lives and be somewhere else, your soldiers will only die pointlessly." She gestured at the bodies of the two dead humans. "Like your friends here."

Mike looked over at the bodies. " I am human. I may not be not from the Earth of this universe, but it's a human homeworld.>"

Delenn silently took that in. In a strange way, it made sense. Whenever one Minbari got mad, the whole Minbari people would get mad and move as one. Generally. That truth was glaringly shown to the galaxy when Dukhat died. Perhaps the humans, in spite of their frequent and pointless internecine bickering and fights, had something similar.

"What made you decide to come into this universe?"

The prisoner shrugged. " A rift opened between the two universes. We're a curious species. Of course we would come and explore. Pity we had to stop being curious when you started fighting us too.>"

A chill went through Delenn. Here was the Vorlon revelation vindicated! Another universe with its own Earth, very likely in the same location as this universe's Earth. She wondered if there was another Minbar through this rift the prisoner spoke of. Perhaps, when the Minbari have reached the Earthers' homeworld, they would find the rift and send ships through this rift to teach the other Earth a lesson and contact their counterpart.

Then she remembered Dukhat's holomessage. The humans were to be their ally in the coming war against the Shadows. If this rift wasn't a freak accident and wasn't supposed to happen, _which_ humanity was he talking about? Just one of them? Both of them? She briefly imagined those strange saucer vessels taking on the terrifying Shadow ships. With new urgency, she asked, "What is the makeup of your forces? Where are your allies' homeworlds?"

Mike shook his head. " I won't be interrogated.>"

Delenn shook her head with pity. This human had a proud defiance, but that wouldn't last long under torture. Surely he must have realized that.

Sonovar came into the schoolhouse. "Callier has informed me to…'proceed with the elimination of the humans.' Delenn, are you finished with your…'interrogation'?"

Since he was not speaking into the translator, Michael didn't understand what the young Minbari man was saying. Delenn was surprised at Sonovar's announcement. She thought that the Grey Council would keep this human from 'elimination'. She had argued to keep him alive under any circumstances for interrogation about his people and his alien allies. Apparently, they had decided to leave the matter with the Caste Elders, still believing him to be only a Vulcan-uplifted Earther. That didn't require her presence or a vote. Of course, they and the Caste Elders were still sore about the Tuzanor victory that the humans and their allies had given them.

She looked back at the human, still tied up and lying on the floor, then at the translator. It was an amazing piece of technology, permitting the conversation to carry on so smoothly and for so long. Still holding the translator, she shook her head at the prisoner and left the schoolhouse.

"Sonovar, do not eliminate him until I am finished with him."

"Yes, Delenn."

It was then that she noticed that other Minbari were carrying two more dead humans on stretchers toward the schoolhouse. More…'samples'? Whoever this 'specialist' that the Wind Swords had, he or she must be a very influential person.

She could no longer hear the sound of battle in the forest below the village of Higginsville. It must be over.

Delenn turned to go to her flyer to contact the Grey Council about the Terran human. Then she heard an explosive sound coming from the schoolhouse. Had Sonovar disobeyed her after all? She rushed into the schoolhouse.

Corporal Mike Dean was alive and expressionlessly looking up at her from his place on the floor.

Seeing that the previously closed door was now open, Delenn went into the other room. In it, a Warrior stood with his back to the door, a human black projectile weapon in his hand and smoking. Beyond him, she could see a human collapsing over a small table, gasping and bleeding with surprise on his face. She could literally hear the life escaping from the human's body.

Horrified, she turned to the Warrior. He shrugged and said, "He was trying to escape."

She couldn't believe it. Was this a symptom of the madness and darkness consuming her people?

Numb, she went back into the schoolhouse's main room. Mike was saying something quietly. To understand him, she took out the alien translator again and he repeated.

" That's Private Tony Banks you've murdered.>"

She turned her face away from Mike's eyes, refusing to learn the name of the recently killed human. Knowing who her victims are would only make the war that much more difficult to bear.

Another gunshot rang out from outside the schoolhouse. Through a window, Delenn could see a Warrior, holding another human projectile weapon, standing in front of a captured human who was dropping as if he was a puppet whose strings were suddenly cut. Blood had splattered a wall and shuttered window of a house behind him. Callier's order of elimination was being carried out.

Delenn turned to look back at Mike. He didn't say anything, but his face reflected sadness. Perhaps he knew that he was doomed even though he wasn't told of the elimination order. She wondered what else to say, what else to talk about, and what else to do to prevent Mike's execution.

Nothing came into her mind.

She realized there was no point in stalling any longer. She would only be delaying the inevitable. Would this be how she would handle the end of the war against the humans and their allies?

She held up the translator once more. "Corporal Michael Dean, I…." She sighed. "I am sorry."

An amused surprise flickered across Mike's face. There was no way for him to know that not only was she apologizing for his execution, but also for starting this insane holy war. She grasped for more words.

"I…I have done everything in my power, but…orders have come from the high command in charge of this planet…."

She trailed off, not finishing the sentence, but Mike understood. His face turned white for a moment and then he calmly said, " It is better this way…. I should never have been captured alive.>"

Delenn found that she didn't hate the human. His moment of truth had come and he was conducting himself like a…like a….

Like a Minbari.

He was facing death with courage and grace. It had been much easier to destroy an enemy that has been demonized. A demonized enemy has no redeeming value whatsoever. The attack on Dukhat had been a cowardly attack by savages. Savages, by their nature, had no sense of nobility. The humans, or at least this Michael Dean, clearly had nobility and were not cowards. Delenn silently vowed to find a way to end the war as soon as she could. Not only for the coming war with the Shadows and for Dukhat, but also for humans like Michael Dean everywhere. And, she had to admit, for herself. The war was exacting a heavy toll on her soul. She was a strong woman, but an extremely sensitive woman nonetheless. If the war was to end, she wouldn't have to endure such emotional impacts, including the guilt over her role in starting this genocide.

Was that selfish? Was that too much to ask?

She wondered if that promise was something that events, the universe, or even the Vorlons would allow her to keep.

Her robes floating behind herself, she turned and left the schoolhouse. Outside beside the door, Sonovar waited expectantly. Delenn looked at him and saw that his face shone as if he was a Centauri who had been drinking. Was that what madness look like on the outside?

She wondered if she would ever dare look in a mirror and see if her face shone like that.

"Sonovar…. Do not…shoot him in the face. Shoot him anywhere from the neck down."

Sonovar nodded, hefted a Minbari PPG and disappeared into the schoolhouse's dimness.

It was the least she could do for the human. His fatal wounds would then appear as though they were honorably inflicted in battle.

Delenn quickly went to her flyer. She wanted to leave this planet and never come back again.


	14. And Now for the Aftermath

**Your Television Screen**

The ISN logo appears in the corner of a black screen as an unseen announcer speaks over a bumper and fanfare:

Announcer: We interrupt our regular evening schedule to bring you the following special program. _The legend "Hypertext captioned" appears on the screen. The logo grows and becomes a rotating cube as dates in history float past in various directions. _April twentieth, twenty-two-forty-six… _As the date appears in foreground, an ISN news set takes the background --- a long shot of an immense studio with a news desk atop a tall tower._ …and the InterStellar Network News presents "The Aftermath" in the universe of our cousin human race, with your host, Dorothy Day, reporting live from the ISN News Center in Geneva.

The lights slowly came on to reveal a blonde, chirpy-looking woman seated in a towering desk at the ISN studio.

Dorothy Day (_as the camera slowly pulls in on her)_: Good evening. I'm Dorothy Day. In the hundred years since First Contact and humanity went to the stars, establishing outposts and colonies on two dozen worlds in fourteen star systems, and exploring the wonders and terrors of the universe. In all that time, we have never encountered anything like a parallel universe. A universe, a dimension, like hyperspace, existing in the same position as our universe yet inaccessible except for an accident of nature during the great victory over the Minbari flagship, the Black Star. Commander John Sheridan, in destroying the Black Star, has created a hole, a rift that breached the barrier between the two universes rather like a jumppoint that allows us access through the natural barriers of normal space to hyperspace. The parallel universe has proven a plethora of knowledge for the Earth Alliance Resources and Technologies Division. _As she speaks, pictures and factoids play as a kind of slideshow beneath her._ It has surpassed our expectations…and has shared our pains, as we will see tonight. With us tonight is a guest from our counterpart, the United Earth Associated Press, who has given us the permits needed to go around in the parallel universe. Thanks to Aleida March, we can now give you a glimpse of the parallel universe and the aftermath of the Battle of Signet among the members of the Coalition of Planets, an alliance of worlds not too unlike the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or the European Union in the 20th and 21st centuries. Among those members is the United Earth Nations and Colonies, the counterpart of our Earth Alliance. Like us, it is at war with an implacable alien threat. It has yet to spill into our universe in spite of EarthForce providing military and technological aid to United Earth. Starfleet, the exploration and quasi-military arm of that government, has generously returned the gesture. Very recently, on April eleven, Starfleet and its alien allies have personally experienced the pains of our war with the Minbari.

**Space**

We see ships of the various races involved at Signet Run—the United Earth Starfleet, the Andorian Imperial Guard, the Tellarite Defense Force, the Vulcan High Fleet and EarthForce. Dorothy continues in a voiceover as we look out the bridge window of a ship.

Dorothy (voiceover): This footage was shot from our position on the Walt Disney Conglomerate starliner _Fantasia_ in the Signet System.

Blue jumppoints quickly filled the space in the left of your television screen. Out of them flew Minbari warcruisers and fighters, and EarthForce opened fire at them while other ships of the Coalition forces began to move in concert.

Dorothy: A terrible battle, a hope raised and dashed in the same day but still leaving us with the hope of better outcomes in the struggle for our survival against the Minbari, and its aftermath in the parallel universe. All this and more in "The Aftermath" in the Coalition of Planets with Miss Aleida March, here on the InterStellar Network News. We'll be back with our story right after this break.

Announcer (over ISN logo): "The Aftermath", sponsored by Interplanetary Expeditions. Exploring the past to create a better future!

**ISN Studio**

Dorothy Day's news desk now has another woman behind it. She has a pen-like device perched on her left ear and a blue light is glowing out of the front end of the device.

Dorothy: Good evening. Before we go through the Rift into the parallel universe, we would like to find out if the parallel Earth is an exact twin of our Earth. Miss March, your Earth is exactly like our Earth and shares the same history up to a point, correct?

Aleida: Yes, Dorothy. As far as we could tell, the histories of the two Earths are generally the same until the early 21st century. Like you, we had the Third World War, but it began and was conducted in a very different way than yours.

Dorothy: For us, the Third World War began with a clash between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir region in 2080, aided by totalitarian coups in several nations like Russia and Iraq over the previous several decades and the dissolving of the United Nations. Unlike previous such clashes between the two countries, another nation joined the conflict, in this case, Indonesia on the Pakistani side. The various nations of the world then chose sides based on previous alliances and blocs such as China against India, and Taiwan against Pakistan, then Russia and the United States against China and Pakistan, and the United Islamic Nations against Israel and the United States. Quickly, it degenerated into a shifting quilt of alliances in an atmosphere of intense terrorism until the war officially ended and the Earth Alliance was founded in 2085. Aleida, how was yours done?

Aleida: Well, the roots of our Third World War go back in the latter part of the 20th century when a secret group of scientists experimented with eugenics and genetic engineering. The result was a crop of eugenically superior humans called Augments. They had superior physical prowess and superior intellect. However, in this case, superior intellect equaled superior ambition. One of the Augments, Khan Noonien Singh, used guile and his control of information technology to bring the various nations of Asia and North Africa such as Russia, Iran, India, Egypt and China into an alliance called the Eastern Coalition of Nations. Several other Augments eventually took power in other nations like the Congo, Germany and others, some with Khan Singh's help. It is for this reason that the Third World War is sometimes called the Eugenics Wars. NATO, our hope of successfully opposing the Eastern Coalition, broke down when France withdrew to pursue an independent course. The Eastern Coalition then launched a war of conquest in Europe. New weapons were debuted, like the battle laser, the quaker, and impulse-driven missiles. Terrorism and artificial earthquakes was used by both sides to 'prepare' areas for later conquest or liberation. There were several nuclear detonations in the war like at Negrepont and Marseilles. The United States, for the first time since its first civil war, suffered direct foreign attacks. All this was taking place when Earth was going through a particularly difficult time of natural disasters. The remains of NATO were reorganized into the Atlantic Reorganized Treaty of Nations—ARTON—and it was helped by an alliance of 'neutrals' called the Free Aligned States. By the time Khan Noonien Singh disappeared and the war ended in 2053, over 600 million people were dead.

Dorothy (horrified): 600 million…. It took a long time for you to recover?

Aleida: Yes. You were lucky to preserve most of your civilization. Civilization basically collapsed and a Second Dark Age came. The Post-Atomic Horror saw most of the judicial systems of the world turned upside down as lawyers were eliminated and courts operated on a principle of 'guilty until proven innocent.' Most governments degenerated into collections of vigilante states or simple anarchy. In the old United States, Colonel Green used his war success to achieve power and proceeded with a program of euthanasia, 'mercy-killing' hundreds of thousands of radiation-sickened humans so they wouldn't pass on mutations to future generations. Sad to say, the traumatized general population supported his policies, much like the Germans did for Hitler in the 1930's. One more thing: It was because of the Augments that we have a suspicion and strict control of genetic engineering, using it only for medicine, biotechnology and to eliminate serious genetic defects.

Dorothy: And now you're here. Somehow, you've rebuilt civilization and took it further than ever before.

Aleida: We were fortunate to have geniuses like Zefram Cochrane, the inventor of our FTL warp drive, and Wing-Tsit Chong, the developer of orbital habitats, computers and some biotechnology. We were also fortunate to have the Vulcans initiate First Contact with us on April 5, 2063. They helped us rebuild our world. First, it was with orbital arcologies to supply Earth's food needs, solar stations and deuterium fusion plants for the energy needs, then, with Vulcan help, we developed the protein resequencer technology to give us more food, eliminating hunger. Within 50 years, war, poverty, hunger, most diseases and most crimes were eradicated. Now we have a similar number of colonies and outposts as you do in the star systems of Tau Ceti, Alpha Centauri, Vega, Altair, Alpha Eridani, Procyon, Cor Caroli, Epsilon Eridani and others in the direction of Zeta Reticuli, though not as many starships as you do.

Dorothy: Amazing. The Centauri contacted us only on April 7, 2156, a hundred years after your First Contact. They didn't help that much, but they did sell us some technologies like the jumpgate, datacrystals and some terraforming technologies for Mars. We are still much the same civilization that the 20th and 21st centuries enjoyed, though terrorism had destroyed San Diego. And you didn't have Centauri space to block your expansion. We just went in the other direction to the Luyten Stars and the Ross Stars. _She turns to face the camera._ And now for "The Aftermath". An ISN news crew and I recently used Aleida March's press credentials and permits to spend time in the parallel universe to determine our counterparts' reaction to the Battle of Signet. The United Earth Associated Press was also generous enough to provide their own reporting technology. Where we have the hovercamera, they have a pen-sized camera that can be worn on the ear at eye level. _Aleida gestures at the device on her ear as she smiles._ For the first time, ISN is using that technology as a field test for future reporting for you.

**Earth Alliance Quantum Rift Station**

We see a large circular space station, slowly pinwheeling in the night with the globular Rift in the background. Spokes connected the station's ring to the central hub where ships enter and leave. The scene shifts to Dorothy walking past a window as she speaks. She now wears the pen-sized camera on her left ear.

Dorothy Day: We are here to wait for embarkation on a transport through the rift to the parallel universe. As you can see, we do not need to wear magnetic boots or support ourselves on the handholds. Starfleet has also been generous enough to lay gravity plating throughout the station. While we were waiting on this new Liberty-class space station, we met someone who has been through it and back again. _A man in an EarthForce uniform comes into view. He has thick eyebrows and is wearing the scarf-ascot of a fighter pilot. He doesn't seem too happy to be on ISN._ Jeffrey David Sinclair is a starfury pilot assigned to the Moon-Mars patrol. Lieutenant Sinclair, what is your opinion of the parallel universe?

Sinclair (uncomfortable): Overall, I've found it to be a valuable experience. I've learned a lot while I've been there.

Dorothy: You were in a military encounter with the enemy that our cousin race is fighting, weren't you?

Sinclair: Yes, ma'am. It was at the Qualor System. It was just a raid, or rather, a punitive strike. The Romulans just appeared out of nowhere, threw a few nuclear warheads at the colony on Qualor II and left.

Dorothy: Are these 'Romulans' as dangerous as the Minbari?

Sinclair: Maybe. I think they could be more dangerous than the Minbari because they are using atomic weapons in the war. Not only that, but they have force shield and invisibility technology.

Dorothy (surprised): Invisibility technology? So that wasn't just a rumor or propaganda?

Sinclair: No, ma'am. Not even the Vulcans, the most advanced race I've met, have it. You just can't see them, can't use scanners on them. They deserve the term 'Ghosts in the Night' more than the Minbari do. Fortunately, when they become visible, we can easily see and tag them. Heaven forbid the Romulans and Minbari ever meeting and exchanging technologies!

Dorothy: You've met the Vulcans, the aliens who could take on the Minbari one-on-one. You've even visited their homeworld. Has that been a positive experience for you?

Sinclair (even more uncomfortable): Well, yeah. Huge statues, fire plains, ancient temples and monasteries, deserts and volcanoes. Very hot with a heavy gravity. Air thin like in the Himalayas or the Andeans on Earth. There's one desert where any high technology can't work at all. A violent world for such a calm and logical people.

Dorothy: You don't seem to feel good about the Vulcans. Why's that?

Sinclair (thinks before speaking and treading carefully): I met a high priest at Mount Seleya, their most sacred volcano. The Vulcans claim to be capable of transferring souls into arks upon death, whenever possible. I don't know if that's true. But that's not the only reason for my…reluctance. It seems that many of the Vulcans are telepaths. I don't know the possible percentage of the population. Certainly, the priest at Seleya was a telepath.

Dorothy (surprised): We haven't heard of that here.

Sinclair: Oh, they don't abuse their abilities. Or advertise them. Generally. They don't have anything like our PsiCorps or even the Centauri's Telepath Guild. They're very relaxed about their telepaths. They just…have a different set of ethics about telepathy. And they're not as strong as our telepaths, as far as I know. I guess. Their telepathy works only when they're in physical contact. I guess you could call them touch-telepaths. Remember, Miss Day, they are not human. They are not like us, in spite of their very human-looking appearance. It certainly took me a while to get used to the idea.

Voice of the station announcer: _Transport Vishnu for the Armstrong Lunar Colony ready for boarding._

Sinclair: Oh, that's part of my convoy patrol. I have to go.

Dorothy (looking at the camera): Well, that was certainly enlightening, wasn't it? We will get back to you on the other side.

Announcer: ISN…. The galaxy's most important network!

**United Earth Space**

We see the planet Earth in all of her glory.

Dorothy (voiceover): This is Earth. Earth in the parallel universe. We'll call it Terra to distinguish it from our Earth. It looks exactly the same as our Earth except for some differences. _The camera pans around, showing city lights on the night side, space stations and various ships in orbit._ As you can see, the positions and sizes of some of the cities are different. The space station you're seeing is the Yosemite 4 Research Post, a civilian research station. The alien ships are from all over the Coalition of Planets—Vulcan, Andorian, Tellarite, Coridanite and Rigellian. _Camera zeroes on several small white vessels in the distance._ These are part of the Solar Home Guard, a kind of National Guard for this Solar System. The Solar Home Guard was originally the Terran space military. Because of the war against the Romulans, the Terran government has integrated it into Starfleet.

The camera pulls away from the view of Terra to reveal that Dorothy is on a ship or space station looking out through a viewport. She walks away from the viewport, gesturing for the camera to follow her. A platform comes into view, with steps leading up to it and six softly glowing circles of light in the platform.

Dorothy: This is what the Terrans call a transporter platform. _We see that she seems to be nervous._ We've all heard rumors of the Coalition's high technology, especially of their transmat technology. This is proof of that. The transporter is a device capable of almost instantaneous teleportation. What it does is it dematerialize the object or person, transmit it through a beam like a radio wave, and reassemble the subject at the desired location. The Terrans call the act of transporting 'beaming'. We have know idea whether the Coalition's transmat technology is anything like the rumors about the Vree. _Becoming even more nervous, she steps up to a transporter pad. She adjusts the pen-sized camera on her ear._ You are about to see what people see when they are being 'beamed' over to a place. _She takes a deep breath as she touches her ear again. The scene switches over to her point of view. We can see Aleida March standing with her own ear camera and smiling reassuringly. A Starfleet transporter operator stands at a control panel. Dorothy continues speaking._

Dorothy (voiceover): Do I just stand here? Are you sure it'll be okay for me?

Aleida: Yes, it will be okay. All you have to do is stand there and wait.

Dorothy (taking a deep breath again): Oookay. Let's go. _The camera bounces a bit as Dorothy shook her head and shoulders to relax._

Transporter Operator: Beginning transport now. _Motes of blue-white light appear. Heavy breathing could be heard._

Dorothy: I…I-I feel a tingle. It's spreading all over my body. _The lights fill up the view._ It's…it's like how my leg's sleeping but it's all over my body!

Aleida (reassuring): It's normal. Breathe. _The transporter room, the operator and Aleida faded from sight, leaving only faint outlines in the lights before finally disappearing altogether. Before the shimmering light could get too bright, it begins to fade. New outlines take shape through the light. The shapes are markedly different from what was seen before. They are identifiable as buildings and trees. The light becomes fading motes again which continue to fade quickly until they are all gone. We see that Dorothy is now standing on a pathway meandering through a Japanese style garden. The squat buildings of Starfleet Headquarters gleam in the sunlight while people in Starfleet uniforms walk about, taking no notice of the new arrival._

Dorothy (exhaling hard): Wow. What an experience! _A column of light appears close by. It's a transporter beam. It soon solidifies into the form of Aleida March._

Aleida (smiling widely): How's that? How are you feeling?

Dorothy: I-I'm not sure. I feel like my body should be sleeping but it's not. I'm not sure if I want to go through that again.

Aleida (chuckling): It's an acquired taste. _The camera point of view switches back over to Aleida._

Dorothy (indicating the scenery): Here we are, at the headquarters for the United Earth Starfleet at San Francisco. Back home, all this area would be the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in Marin County overlooking the San Francisco Bay. Starfleet Headquarters is the administrative center of Starfleet, the exploration and defense arm of the United Earth Nations and Colonies. Starfleet Academy, the main school for applicants, is at the Presidio. _As she speaks, she enters one of the buildings._ Who _are_ the people in Starfleet? And what do they do in it? What are their hopes and dreams? The commander-in-chief of Starfleet, Fleet Admiral Gardner, is away on a mission against raiders and pirates in neighboring sectors. _A man comes into frame as the camera follows Dorothy._ While we eagerly await the results of his expedition, we have Admiral Williams.

Williams: Hello, Dorothy. (_faces the camera)_ Hi, Aleida.

Dorothy: Would you mind telling us a bit about yourself?

Williams: There's not much to tell. I came from Bozeman, Montana and have been there all my life. The first chance I got, I applied for Starfleet Academy. You have to understand that in Bozeman, Zefram Cochrane is a hero, a god. It's where he built the first warp ship, you know. He said, 'To seek out new life forms and civilizations, and to boldly go where no man has gone before.' That really gets me.

Dorothy (coaxing): Now, now, Admiral, there has to be more to your story than that.

Williams (smiling): Yes, there is. 'Ad astra per aspera.' That's Latin for 'through our endeavors, the stars.' That's the Earth Starfleet motto, but Zefram Cochrane's quote is the main thing for me. Please excuse me, ma'am. I have work to do.

**Military Assault Command Office**

Colonel Georges Emilé Picard: What do I hope for? _He takes a deep breath._ Well, there are little hopes, _mon ami_. Every day I wake up, I hope nothing bad will happen. I hope the Birdies—_merde_, I mean the Romulans—haven't advanced further than they have. Now I hope the Minbari won't find out about them. Also, I hope that by the end of this war, everything we've gone through will mean something!

**Vulcan Compound**

**Sausalito, San Francisco Bay, Terra**

Dorothy Day does a standup in front of an imposing solid gate set in a high strong-looking wall.

Dorothy: Aliens are in residence here on Terra, mostly diplomats and merchants from all across the Coalition of Planets. Andorians, Coridanites, Denobulans, Rigellians, Tellarites and Vulcans. Many other species came from beyond the Coalition as well. In all, we've identified 14 different alien species here on Terra, not counting those who came from our universe. Perhaps the most elusive of the alien races are the Vulcans. They prefer to stay at compounds and consulates like the one here behind me in Sausalito and at Berlin and Canberra. The Vulcans were one of the first of the local races to develop the warp drive. They have conducted a series of survey missions to the Sol System as early as the Second World War like the Vree have done in our universe. Like the Centauri in our universe, they made First Contact with the Terrans and advised them in interstellar affairs. They also have made contact with distant races whose name most of the Coalition only know, like 'Cardassians', 'Trill', 'Tholians', 'Klingons' and many others. Ambassador Soval of the Vulcan Confederacy has agreed to an interview with ISN.

**Ambassador Soval's Quarters**

Dorothy sits across a table from a dignified-looking Vulcan who has burn scars on the left side of his face and on his ear.

Dorothy: Since very few humans from the Earth Alliance have visited Vulcan, perhaps you could start by telling us a little of your world.

Soval: Vulcan is a planet in what humans once called the 40 Eridani star system, 16 light-years from the Terran System. _An inserted image of a crescented Martian-looking planet appears in a box over his shoulder._ Vulcan is a harsh world of deserts and arid mountains. There are what you would call tourist attractions such as active volcanoes, ancient ruins, and lava fields. Some of them include Mount Seleya, the Fire Plains, the Osana caverns, Lake Yuron, Mount Tar'Hana, and the capital city Shi'Kahr itself. I am partial to the Temple of T'Panit where the rhythmic chanting of the monks is soothing.

Dorothy: Please excuse my candor, Ambassador, but what happened to your face?

Soval (matter of fact): It was the result of a terrorist bombing in the Earth embassy on Vulcan.

Dorothy (surprised): A terrorist bombing? I thought that Vulcan was a peaceful world?

Soval: Indeed. Unfortunately, even Vulcans are not immune to the effects of corruption, paranoia and delusions. Before the bombing, Vulcan was ruled by the corrupt High Command instead of the Vulcan Council as it is today. There were those in the Vulcan High Command who wondered what will the humans achieve in the century to come, and they didn't like the answer. Perhaps the bombing was a fortunate incident in the sense that it exposed the corruption of the High Command and led to its overthrow and dismantling in the Syrannite Reformation of Vulcan.

Dorothy: Fascinating. _Soval arches an eyebrow at that comment._ You had a history of skirmishes with the Andorians, didn't you?

Soval (reluctant): That was before the Reformation. Andorian ambitions clashed with the ambitions of the old High Command. As you can see, that has been resolved and we are partners in the Coalition.

Dorothy: Uh-huh. What about telepathy, Ambassador?

Soval (looking slightly puzzled): Telepathy, Miss Day?

Dorothy: Yes. We were told you have telepaths.

Soval (not seeing what's wrong): Yes. Many Vulcans are natural touch-telepaths. However, considerable training is required for most of them to fully utilize the ability. Stronger minds are capable of non-contact telepathy, usually over short distances and in a limited fashion.

Dorothy: Don't you…regulate your telepaths?

Soval (frowning slightly): We do not…'regulate' our telepaths. Telepathy is a natural part of my people. I do not see any point in regulating it. However, I can see how regulation may be needed for unscrupulous people, but it fosters an atmosphere of distrust which hinders the progress of any race. In any case, telepaths, especially among my people, are raised with a sense of high ethics.

Dorothy (pouncing): But what about Sinc— _Soval's intercom beeps for attention._

"_Ambassador Soval, news of the battle at the Signet System has arrived. You are needed at Starfleet Command."_

Soval looks at Dorothy with a raised eyebrow. There's a hint of relief and concern in the Vulcan's face.

**Old United Nations Headquarters**

**New York City, United Earth**

Dorothy Day is standing outside a door in the hallway of what is clearly an important government building.

Dorothy (speaking in haste): Here we are in New York City. Ten minutes ago, we were informed of the results of the battle at the Signet System, the first allied engagement against the Minbari. The United Earth General Assembly has been convened to hear this report. We've been given permission to record these proceedings in the Assembly.

The camera moves through the door opened by Dorothy to reveal that we are on a viewing gallery of the General Assembly. We see a vast auditorium with a very high domed ceiling. On the wooden wall above the podium was the emblem of United Earth: a stylized two-dimensional globe of Earth with an olive branch beside it as if it was a hand holding the planet up. The Minister of State, Nathan Samuels, is at the podium.

Samuels: The Chair recognizes the gentleman from China.

Chinese representative: Today will be known as 'Black Monday'. We are utterly and disgracefully routed, beaten, and defeated by aliens who did not possess either shield technology or polarizing hull technology. This can be defined as more humiliating than a defeat by the Romulans. Clearly, there have been mistakes made! I _demand_ an inquiry into the conduct of the battle! _A murmur erupts among the representatives and in the viewing gallery and Samuels bangs his gavel for order._

Samuels: The Starfleet Command Council is already investigating the matter. President Thorpe is in a meeting with the Council about this. Until they come to a decision, that is not on the agenda for this session yet. The Chair recognizes the lady from the United Arab Republic.

Arab representative: But, Minister, I agree with Li Chen. An investigation from within Starfleet is not enough! This relates to not just us, but the entire Coalition! The Andorians, the Tellarites and the Vulcans have suffered. It even relates to the Earth Alliance itself! No, we must invite our allies to join in a general public inquiry.

European representative: Hah! Fraulein Jamal is showing a very ECON attitude!

Arab and Chinese representatives at the same time: I resent that!

Samuels (banging the gavel): Order! Order! This chamber will not tolerate any juvenile behavior! The gentleman from the European Union must refrain from making such comments. They have no relation to the present agenda. The Chair recognizes the chief observer from Alpha Centauri.

Alpha-Centaurian chief observer: The three worlds of Toliman Colony, Velestus and Kent have noticed that Fleet Admiral Gardner has sent most of the Alpha-Centaurians in the Sol Fleet to the Signet System. Most of them are now dead or missing. We are outraged at the implications of that and we must lodge a formal protest here in the General Assembly!

Samuels (surprised): A formal protest?

Alpha-Centaurian: Alpha Centauri have been a major and prosperous part of the United Earth Nations and Colonies and we are getting tired of being kept as colonies rather than a full member of this august body like Mars have been since the beginning of this century!

Samuels: But that was under extenuating circumstances—

Alpha-Centaurian (shouting over Samuels): Too many have died for the Earth Alliance instead of going to fight the Romulans! The war with the Minbari has nothing to do with us! Alpha Centauri will not tolerate such abuses anymore! Right now, the three Centauran worlds are studying the Fundamental Declarations of the Martian Colonies and—

Latin Alliance representative (shocked): Is that a suggestion of…separatism?

Alpha-Centaurian: Take it as you will, Señora. Give us voting rights in the General Assembly _and_ keep our people from being sent to die needlessly and the implication will be withdrawn. If not…we'll have to find our own destiny.

A hubbub erupts in the chamber as Minister Samuels banged his gavel for order fruitlessly.

**ISN Studio, Live**

**Geneva, Switzerland, Earth Alliance**

Dorothy is at her anchor desk at ISN.

Dorothy: It would seem we are seeing the beginning of secessionism in United Earth space at Alpha Centauri. Right after this session of the General Assembly, the Alpha-Centaurians sent representatives through the Rift to Mars in the Earth Alliance. The purpose of this visit and its intention are unknown but EarthGov and MarsGov will be watching them closely. _She turns to face another camera._ In related news, President Elizabeth Levy has met with her counterpart, United Earth President Christopher Thorpe on EarthForce One. They have both signed bills calling for the enlistment for more troops and crewmen for their respective military forces. Also, President Thorpe has announced the instatement of Fleet Admiral George Brinton Gardner as the Supreme Commander of the Coalition Forces in order to better coordinate the disparate military forces available for the war against the Romulans and Minbari. Meanwhile, Admiral Gardner's fleet has arrived at the Terran System.

**Space**

Warp flashes announce the arrival of the admiral's fleet. The arriving starships look pristine and refreshingly clean when compared to the damaged ships that came from the Signet System.

**Starfleet Headquarters**

**San Francisco, Terra**

George Gardner stands at a podium as photographers and reporters jostle each other for better view. The admiral appears to have an air of success.

Admiral Gardner: I am proud to announce our victories against the pirates in the Sirius Sector and neighboring sectors. My fleet has destroyed illegal operations in the sectors and captured a major Nausicaan base. We are converting the base into a starbase for the Earth Starfleet. The loss at Signet is, of course, unsettling, but that is offset by the successes made by the good men and women of the Sol Fleet.

Applause thunders in the conference room.

**ISN Studio**

Dorothy: Because of the admiral's success against the other universe's version of the Raiders and because of the contrast of that against the disappointment of Signet, Terrans now see him as their savior from both the Minbari and Romulans. Even so, the defeat at Signet is upsetting.

**San Francisco, Terra**

It is night in San Francisco. Dorothy spots an auburn-haired man in Starfleet uniform and stops him for an interview.

Dorothy: Dorothy Day, ISN News. Weren't you at Signet?

Starfleeter: Lieutenant Edmund Leaf, Miss Day. Yes, ma'am.

Dorothy: Isn't there an inquiry at Starfleet about that?

Leaf (shoulders slumping): Yes, ma'am. Captain Catlin, Captain Hulbert, Lieutenant Cooper and one or two other officers are already under arrest. A hundred men are drunk, a hundred more are with their lovers against orders, and inquiries are everywhere…. _He sighs._ Colonel Alford is very drunk all the time now. _Shaking his head, he leaves._

Dorothy (facing camera): There you have it, citizens. The shock and pain of our war against the Minbari have arrived on Terra. Our heart must go out to our cousin human race. But what are the other worlds of the Coalition feeling?

**Tellarite Embassy**

**San Francisco, Terra**

Ambassador Gral: Signet was a disaster! The Earthers are primitive, the Andorians rash, the Vulcans too careful and cowardly! The human Starfleet unimpressive! One of your senators went too far with me! As of now, Tellar is withdrawing from the war with the Minbari.

Dorothy (alarmed): Ambassador, what about Signet 5? Isn't the planet supposed to be your homeworld's counterpart?

Gral: Hah! A dead world full of dead cities! Not worth our efforts. Besides, we found out that the planet was once conquered by the Centauri and its people enslaved. Then the Narns 'liberated' the planet through a terrible chemical sabotage, forcing the Centauri to abandon it. The effect of that was like the chemical accident in Bhopal, India in the late 20th century, but on a planetary scale. Because of these, we do not feel good about the Centauri and Narn at all. No, not at all. When the war ends, we'll see what we decide to do about them. We'll see….

Dorothy (barely restraining her anger): But…but the Minbari are killing us all!

Gral (annoyed): We're withdrawing from your universe, Miss Day. Period. The Romulans are much closer to Tellar than the Minbari, Narn or Centauri. Don't you see, woman? One war is enough!

**United Earth Government center**

**San Francisco, Terra**

State Minister Nathan Samuels (looking stressed out and shamed): We are, of course, disappointed. But we understand the Tellarite need to pull all of their ships to focus on the war with the Romulans. After all, we did rush into the battle ourselves without being much more careful about our preparations. Besides, the Romulans are a more clear and present danger than the Minbari. To the Tellarites, at any rate.

**Vulcan Compound**

**Sausalito, Terra**

Soval: It is unfortunate that the battle at the Signet System had the result it has. We, naturally, have sent calls for a ceasefire to Minbar. These calls have not been answered, yet.

Dorothy: Your people were the first to leave the battle, right?

Soval: Correct. It was the logical thing to do. We were reaching the limits of acceptable loss.

Dorothy (affronted): Acceptable loss! You lost only three ships! _Three!_ When EarthForce, Starfleet and the Andorians have lost a hell lot more than that! _pained_ We…_we_ lost the colony on Signet 4! The way to Cooke, Jericho and Ross is now open to the Minbari! Logical? You mean cowardly!

Soval (being visibly patient): Captain Sorik of the Shirasna made the logical choice. Even among your people, the traditional acceptable military loss is twenty percent. Had he decided to remain and exceed the acceptable rate of loss, it would be a waste of vessels and lives which could be better used in other endeavors.

Dorothy: You turned what could have been an orderly retreat into a rout! Over 110 EarthForce ships were destroyed! 113 out of 186 ships! Count 'em, Ambassador. Only 73 are left!

Soval (looking peeved): We did not wish to fight. The Vulcan Council has ordered the High Fleet not to directly engage the Minbari in combat. Captain Sorik, contrary to these orders, decided to keep his fleet in the Signet System and to allow its engagement in battle. In so doing, Vulcan lives were lost. The antagonism between Minbar and Vulcan has been exacerbated by that. The Vulcan Council will not look kindly at that. Of that, I can assure you.

Dorothy (letting her feelings get the better of her): Breaking ranks without warning your allies and working out an orderly retreat is criminal in the battlefield. I'm a civilian through and through, but even I know that! You started the rout and the Tellarites ran almost as fast. What you're saying is that Sorik's fleet should have left before the Minbari jumped in-system. You call yourself our ally? How do you think the colonists on Signet 4 and the families of those who fought at Signet would feel about your…**_retreat_**?

Soval: I would—

Dorothy (interrupting): I think they would feel hurt! Betrayed. That by not owning up to your alliance with us, you're letting the Minbari murder more of us. What would you say to them? _Soval has no answer._ To all the husbands and wives and children and brothers and sisters of the people who were **_killed_** at Signet, and **_now_** see the Vulcans trying to rationalize their part in those deaths? Logic is a very weak excuse, Ambassador. Cowardice is a better explanation.

Soval (standing up and coolly gathering his robes): Please excuse me, Miss Day. This interview is at an end.

**Andorian Embassy**

**Oakland, San Francisco Bay, Terra**

Dorothy: And you, Ambassador Thoris? What do you think?

Andorian Ambassador Thoris: Signet was a day of sadness and honor for us all. Of course, we weren't surprised that the Vulcans were the first to run. They never had the stomach for war, them and their foolish pursuit of logic.

Dorothy: Andorians do seem to have 'the stomach for war.' The Earth Alliance is aware of the heroism of Commander A'sh and his crew at Signet.

Thoris: Though we do not have their blood, we will honor their names at the Wall of Heroes on Andoria. The Imperial warship Thori is an example of what Vulcans wouldn't do. They prefer to skulk about, waste time on diplomatic talks and flee rather than stand and fight.

Dorothy (amused): Except of course, Ambassador, for the Battle of Regulus and Paan Mokar.

Thoris: Please. Haven't they rewritten history enough? They weren't satisfied with rewriting the teachings of their own savior so they must try to do it to others! It's Weytahn, not 'Paan Mokar'. Weytahn has been terraformed and colonized by **_us_** before the Vulcans took it. Then lost it back to us. _Waves hand dismissively._ That's in the past. So is the Battle of Regulus.

Dorothy: I understand. May I, on behalf of my people, thank you for your efforts to halt the Minbari advance?

Thoris (smiling gracefully): You're very welcome. Andoria _is_ honorable and serious about her allies.

**Starfleet Headquarters**

**San Francisco, Terra**

Dorothy (speaking in haste and walking backwards toward a large crowd of Starfleet officers, MACOs and Andorian soldiers outside the buildings): We've just been informed that there's been a new development at Starfleet Command. Fleet Admiral George Gardner has taken personal command of the Coalition forces. _Steps through the crowd, the camera following her and focusing on Gardner who was standing on something to raise himself over the crowd._

Gardner: I am now to train and refine the Sol Fleet which shall henceforth be Earth's Invincible Armada and, above all, the core of the grand fleet of the Coalition! Soldiers! I have heard that there was danger here. I have come to place myself at your head and to share it with you. I now fear only one thing—that you will not find foes worthy of your steel! _The crowd cheers._

Dorothy (accosting one of the Starfleeters): Mr. Leaf, excuse me. What are your thoughts on this?

Edmund Leaf: Well, the crews of the Sol Fleet love him. Hell, he made us proud of ourselves again. You should see him when he visited the Academy just now. They received him with loud shouts. You can trace his progress through the crowd by the happy shouts. They believe in him, Miss Day. So do I!

Another Starfleeter: Hi! I'm Robert Martin of the Sarajevo. Let me tell you, Miss Day. The boys are happy as clams in high water. The rank and file think Gardner is just the man to lead us on to victory when **_he_** gets ready. **_Not_** when Christopher Thorpe says to go!

**Fleet Admiral George Brinton Gardner's office**

**Starfleet Headquarters**

**San Francisco, Terra**

Gardner (chummy): I'm very glad to see that the Earth Alliance is feeling close to us.

Dorothy: Thanks to your selfless offer of alliance, of course. You're popular among the troops, aren't you?

Gardner (short laugh): You have no idea how the men and women brighten up when I go among them. I can see every eye glisten. Yesterday, at the Academy, they nearly pulled me to pieces in one regiment. You never heard such yelling. _Grins widely and brightly._

**ISN, Live**

**Geneva, Switzerland, Earth Alliance**

Dorothy: As journalists, we would be remiss in our responsibilities if we suggested that events such as those you've just witnessed were typical of the situation in the Coalition of Planets. Like anyone else, they have good days and bad days. And yet through pain and struggle, we will grow together. So perhaps we should allow the Coalition time to realize, or even one day exceed, the dreams and hopes we have invested in it. We'll be back with some concluding thoughts right after this message.

Announcer: ISN, the galaxy's most important network!

**ISN, Live**

Dorothy: Now that we know the results of Signet Run and the Coalition's ability to help us, we asked each of the people involved in this story one question: Given the dangers of the war against the Minbari, is it worth it?

**Starfleet Headquarters**

**Military Assault Command Office**

**San Francisco, Terra**

Colonel Picard: _Absolument! Naturellement_, when things get tense out here, we must be careful. The battle at Signet **_proved_** that the Minbari are not the unstoppable force they were before we met the Earth Alliance. It also proved that they are a danger to us all. Now that we know, we can make sure we do better. We learn. It's what humans do!

**Andorian Embassy**

Ambassador Thoris: Yes! I **_definitely_** think it's worth it. We must simply **_work harder_** to make sure our alliances are fruitful! Keeping the Romulans from doing the same thing and not doing anything about the Minbari would be hypocritical! And with the intervention of the Coalition, perhaps we can keep both of them from making a similar mistake in the future.

**Vulcan Compound**

Ambassador Soval: Of all the species we've made contact with yours is the only one we can't define. You have the arrogance of Andorians, the stubborn pride of Tellarites. One moment you're as driven by your emotions as Klingons, and the next you confound us by suddenly embracing logic.

Dorothy: I'm sure those qualities are found in every species….

Soval: ...But not in such confusing abundance. In spite of the difficulty in defining your species, humans have a commendable quality: the ability to build communities out of diverse and sometimes hostile populations. We hope to be the peacemakers for the Coalition while the humans would be the glue of the Coalition. Misunderstandings aside, I personally hope that the Earth Alliance would be part of that glue.

**The Fleet Admiral's office**

Gardner: **_Wellllll_**—I guess we'll just have to see… _bright friendly smile_ won't we?

**Outside Starfleet Headquarters**

Lieutenant Edmund Leaf:Sure! What, are you kidding? It's Starfleet, you know?

**Starfleet Academy**

Admiral Williams: Yes. Another question would be 'how could Starfleet do what it's doing and go where it has gone?' The main reason you did it was because the man next to you did it. It was crew pride. If you stop to think about it, it would have been much harder not to go than to go. It would have taken a lot of courage to say, "Captain, I ain't goin'." Nobody's got that much courage. Not with the Birdies bent on wiping us out and the Boneys on killing our cousins. Not if we want to create a better world for ourselves and for posterity.

**ISN Studio, Live**

Dorothy: I'm Dorothy Day, ISN News…

Aleida: …and I'm Aleida March, United Earth Associated Press, and Miss Day's camera person.

Both: Good night!


	15. In the Pursuit of Knowledge

_Sean Mulligan: War hurts a hell lot. Sad, but true._

_JonnyG: A trap? What are you talking about:p_

_Allen Pitt: Nice ideas. Though I wouldn't wish Khan even on the Minbari. Somehow, somewhen, Khan WILL figure out how to seize power and build his own empire. Empire-building Augments running around loose is never a good idea unless you're an Augment yourself._

_Worker72: Amen! I'll raise a glass to that._

_grayangle: I like to miss some updates myself--that way, I can read a story uninterrupted all the way. Unfortunately, reality prevents me to present such a pleasure to you and everyone else._

_The Sithspawn: Is this soon enough? ;p_

_The Bushranger: I've helped AlbertG a bit with his story "A Thin Veneer". Perhaps it's not an accident that there's some resemblance between this story and his story. As for the Vorlons, I'm using the Taelons as a guide to seeing how Vorlon society would really function--the Commonality, organic technologies, individuals who work for a common cause but often clash on the specifics. To me, Kosh is Da'an and Ulkesh is Zo'or. The Vorlon Empire would like others to see it as something holy, sacred, even divine. A synod is most often a church council, so the Taelon Synod is useful for my depiction of the Vorlons. There's plenty of similarities between the two races, me thinks._

_StarfireGreencoon: Thanks! I've seen only a few MASH shows in the 80's. So no intentional reference to MASH, but it's good._

_pinoy13: Hi, Bien Canonizado! (Good Canonizing?) I'm a hearing-impaired (deaf) person myself. Many have commented how they prefer to go blind rather than become deaf. Well, they really don't know what they're talking about and need to associate with people like you and me to truly understand. Having associated with other blind people, I can partly understand what you're going through. There are libraries that have devices for helping the blind to read, either via screen-readers, Braille-translators or audiotapes. I don't know about the Philippines, but the libraries in the University of Sao Paulo (Brazil), the University of Maryland, Gallaudet University and other such institutions in the United States offer such access. I know several blind people who were lucky enough to procure their own reading devices either through family help or government assistance. It is very fortunate that we live in such a highly technical age. Thank you for the very kind words. My heart goes out to you._

* * *

"It's right to learn, even from the enemy." –Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso), Roman poet during the principates of Augustus Caesar and Tiberius Caesar, 43 BC - AD 17

**Imperial Romulan Warbird _Raptor_**

Selin Telvor was getting heartily sick of it. The ship was confining, dark and cramped. The trip was taking too long with no tangible result for his taste. Sure, exploring an entirely new universe was exciting, but the excitement wore off as days began to turn into weeks. Even so, they have learned much about this new human race. To keep himself sane and mentally fit, the centurion had been studying the ancient Vulcan dice that had been in his family since the Exile from Vulcan, mentally restructuring the symbols on it into sentences.

A Romulan officer stepped up to his command chair dominating the center of the round bridge. She saluted. "Centurion. Long range sensors have detected a vessel. It's not Earther."

Telvor perked up at that. Finally. He had chosen a quiet area of space near the Earther colony of New London to avoid the activity brewing around Signet and Jericho. He could have chosen the area near Kandhi, but it was too quiet for his purpose. Detailed information has been gleaned from an Earther merchant vessel that was attacked and boarded by the Romulans near Proxima 3. Naturally, they destroyed the primitive ship to remove all evidence of the Romulans. Also naturally, the destruction would be blamed on the Minbari.

"Specify, Sublieutenant."

"The vessel appears to be 95 meters long and its hull is built of a polycrystalline alloy. Scans are spotty, but—"

Telvor held up a hand to stop the sublieutenant. "Spotty? The ship's within our sensor range, isn't it? We're supposed to have the best sensors that the Star Empire could offer."

The woman fidgeted nervously under the centurion's sharp gaze. Mistakes were rarely tolerated in the Imperial Fleet. "Yes, sir. Something on the vessel is interfering with our scans, but we were able to see that it has three neutron cannons and four turreted fusion bolt batteries. No shields were detected."

Telvor raised his eyebrows. No shields? This should make things easier and interesting. "Do you know what species controls that ship?"

"No, Centurion."

"Let's find out, shall we?" Telvor smiled. "Go to tactical status."

—+—

On the vessel detected by the Romulans, Ardenn still wasn't happy about the assignment.

"Lenell, I do not understand. We are Anla'shok. We are supposed to be at the frontiers, watching for the return of the Shadows. Not this…this scouting out an alien race that has no relation to the great darkness at all!"

Lenell made a noise of annoyance in her throat. It wasn't the first time that Ardenn voiced his discontent. "Ardenn, ours is not to question but to obey. If we do not do what we are supposed to do, the Anla'shok Na would be displeased."

Ardenn's lips showed what he thought of the aging Ranger One. "Turval is only doing what the Warrior Caste wants."

"And if he doesn't," Lenell said curtly, "what are we to do if the Warriors decide to seize the Rangers for their own purposes?"

"Hasn't they already through the Grey Council and Turval?"

Lenell bristled as she said nothing. Her fellow Ranger was right. The Ranger ship Liandra was supposed to be poking and skulking about the edge of space where the Shadow Realms once ruled, not the edge of the Earth Alliance. She didn't like helping the Warriors gather intelligence to attack the colony the Earthers called New London which had no hopes of resisting the Minbari war machine.

Another Ranger spoke up. "Lenell, I'm detecting small energy distortions 500 meters away from us." Then with alarm: "It's a ship!"

The holodisplay rose out of the main console table, showing the starry blackness of space. A dark green ship shimmered into view, looking like a cross between a crawfish and a beetle.

The Rangers assembled on the bridge gasped at the sight. To their knowledge, only the one race had the ability to phase into normal space from hyperspace.

Shadows!

Lenell snapped an order. "Evasive maneuvers! Prepare to fire!"

The strange dark and small alien ship was already firing at the Liandra with green beams. Lenell held onto her seat as the Liandra endured the weapons fire.

"We've lost the stealth!" shouted Ardenn.

She was confused. All accounts of the Shadows told of how they used black organic technology and purple slicing beams. This ship's armor was a type of metallic alloy and its weapon was similar to what the Hyach used in their military. Who are these aliens? A new servant race given the Shadow interphasing technology?

A whining hum sounded throughout the bridge as several columns of coruscating green light appeared. The pillars of green light dissolved to reveal….

Lenell blanched. Vulcans!

But the uniforms were wrong: they weren't woven of a metallic/reflective material nor were they in plain tan, brown, brownish red or gray. Rather they were checkered with all those colors at once with black as the predominant background and borders. And as far as she knew, Vulcans didn't wear gold-hued helmets. One of them, clearly an officer, sported a metal-leather shoulder brace and didn't wear a helmet. A branch of the Vulcan military? The Vulcans had never displayed any interphasing capability. Has they contacted the Shadows?

She didn't have time to think. The Minbari Rangers seized their pikes and clicked them open for combat. She was proud to see that Ardenn was the first to reach one of the Vulcans. His pike made contact with the targeted Vulcan's head, knocking him unconscious.

The other invaders aimed their handweapons and fired. Green blinding light was followed by pain and darkness which overcame Lenell as the deck rushed to meet her.

—+—

"These Minbari fought well," said Telvor. "Very well executed, Lieutenant."

The lieutenant looked like he wanted to preen, but, fortunately for both himself and the centurion, he didn't.

"Now," Telvor was saying. "I want the engineers and technicians to go over the Minbari ship. With all the technologies on it, it would make an excellent trophy to take to Romulus." He turned to a sublieutenant. "Prepare the prisoners taken from the bridge and engineering for interrogation. We will learn how to operate the ship."

The centurion smiled with glee. Already, he could see himself being praised and honored on the floor of the Imperial Senate and the Praetor herself personally promoting him. Yes, this universe has already benefited Selin Telvor and the Romulan Star Empire.

**Minbar**

The sound of boots reverberated through the corridor. The guards in the corridor snapped their salute, though they appeared uncertain about this man. They were of the Wind Swords Clan, while the visitor came from the Star Riders.

Coming up to the door between the guards, the man gruffly said, "I have come to speak with the specialist."

One of the guards said, "Sir, the specialist can only be seen with the permission of the Wind Swords Elders."

Scoffing at the guard's words with a sneer, the visitor said, "I have been here before. I did not need to explain myself to your predecessors. I do not need to explain myself to you either. Open the door and stand aside."

The guards exchanged a glance. The visitor was a war hero highly respected on Minbar. They gave a curt nod and did what he asked.

"Alyt Neroon, I thought I recognized the arrogant walk," a female voice said.

Neroon twisted his lips at the voice. The offworlder woman was as impudent as ever. "Jha'Dur."

The sole surviving Dilgar known as Deathwalker purred with a smile. "You've come about the humans again. Do you remember what I told you about the humans in the Dilgar War?"

The Minbari merely looked at her in silence.

"Now you're learning what I've learned." Her vaguely feline face looked smug.

Neroon gritted his teeth. He would have preferred to move the Dilgar woman from the list of endangered species to that of extinct species. Unfortunately, she was too valuable. For now.

He looked around the quarters. There were notebooks, books, scrolls and data crystals neatly stacked everywhere in the quarters. A computer screen was surrounded by handwritten notes. Here and there were devices and pieces that were not crafted by Minbari or Dilgar hands. "Have you examined what we've sent you?"

Jha'Dur purred as she took a bottle from a low table and poured herself a drink. "Straight to business as usual. The truth is rarely a comfortable thing."

The Warrior merely crossed his arms, waiting for Jha'Dur to answer.

The Dilgar rolled her eyes at the Minbari. She drank from her cup and then activated the computer. On the screen, a schematic of a spacecraft encased in a bubble appeared. She chuckled softly at the image. "The new aliens have figured out how to distort the fabric of space to propel a spacecraft to high speeds without the time dilation problem. This continuum distortion technology is fascinating to say the least. I can see a lot of military application in the technology. High speed strafing runs. Outrunning missiles and enemies. Lightning strikes. I cannot fully credit the reports, but I can see how they could use this form of propulsion for superluminal travel in normal space rather than hyperspace. Come to think of it, the Centauri once had something similar to it at the beginning of their space program. Got it from a crashed alien vessel, I believe. You could ask them about it." She chuckled softly again. "The fastest that the Minbari could go in normal space is at .20 c. Neroon, you don't have a prayer!"

"Never mind that. Is there any way to stop it?"

Jha'Dur smiled. "I'm only an expert in biochemical, biogenetic and cyber-organic weaponry. But I think we can apply elementary science to the problem. Any opposing force has an equal reaction. Since the technology depends on continuum distortion, perhaps a strong gravity field could disrupt the field." She then looked as if she just realized something. "Oh. Of course. That would mean you have to go as close to their ships as possible to do that."

Neroon shot a hard look at the predatorily smiling Dilgar. "What else?"

The specialist nodded, seeing that it would be safer to move on than to push this touchy Warrior further. She changed the orders in her computer which then displayed various images of Minbari weapons impact on Andorian, Vulcan, Tellarite and Starfleet ships. "Ah, force shield technology. We tried to get it in our conquest of the Abbai colony Tavita and failed. The one technology the Minbari do not have."

"I'm not interested in history lessons," snapped Neroon. "Get on with it."

"As far as I can tell, the Andorians and Vulcans have the technology. The Abbai had to have very large and bulky shield generators that leave very little room for the crew in their ships. Notice the windows. They have plenty of room in their ships. Meaning they've perfected force shield generation. We Dilgar had a hard enough time with shielded Abbai ships and stations. Have a care with their ships, Alyt."

"Their confidence in their force shields is misplaced." Neroon was looking bored. "Our firepower can drain their shields well enough."

"Is that enough to forbid their living long enough to cut up your ships?"

The Minbari alyt ignored that.

"As for the humans and Tellarites," continued Jha'Dur indifferently. "They appear to depend on a form of hull armour that requires electromagnetic energy to be strong." She pressed a button in the computer, causing an image of a Starfleet ship to fill the whole screen. A Minbari neutron beam touched the saucer hull of the ship, causing electrical discharges to ripple away from the point of impact. "See that? Their armour is very thin, thick enough for only a shuttle, but it's capable of dispersing energy weapons fire. For a time, of course. It can fail, as Signet has wonderfully demonstrated." Putting a finger on her lips, she said, "It would be interesting to apply the technology to the kind of armour that EarthForce uses. If I could think that, surely EarthForce is already thinking of it and applying the technology to itself."

Neroon shrugged. "It will only prolong their agony. What else?"

Jha'Dur didn't bother to suppress her amusement at Neroon's dismissive attitude. "It would seem that they use other dimensions for communications instead of tachyons. To be exact, a sub-dimension, because it's not completely present. It's interesting, isn't it? The aliens have done a great deal of research into the theoretical sciences—a lot more than any other race that we know of. If we wanted instantaneous communication over many parsecs, we'd have to send tachyon signals to each other through hyperspace itself. A very expensive process, as you know."

"Yes, yes, I know," said Neroon impatiently. "What of it?"

The former Warmaster stated matter-of-factly, "They don't need that. They can talk to each other directly. Although I imagine that if great distances are involved, they would need some type of relay device to keep the reception clear. As of yet, I cannot tell you how to disrupt or jam their communications."

Neroon sighed. The new aliens just keep presenting ever more frustrating obstacles to the justice of the holy war.

"Now," Jha'Dur was saying as she picked up a rectangular device. "This is what they call a Universal Translator. It seems that it requires an expert linguist to function smoothly. It learns as we speak how to translate alien languages instantly. As far as I can tell, it has been configured to translate the major Earth languages, Centarn, the Slaani Trade Tongue, Vreetax, Brakuun, Yiltul and Narnish. The other alien languages, I don't recognize at all. Andorian, Vulcan and Tellarite, I would guess." She activated the device which lit up with a softly glowing blue light. "Using Centarn as a base, I have programmed my language, Dilgari, into the device." Here, she began to speak in Dilgari, which Neroon was annoyed to find he couldn't understand at all.

The Dilgar language continued, leaving Neroon feeling sure that she was insulting him. Then almost suddenly, Minbari words began to crop up in the Dilgar sentences. Words from the Warrior dialect, Vik.

Soon, he was amazed to find that Jha'Dur was speaking perfect Vik. "Nie'se schlect sim'sha. A' fa'an esan de'fala."

I am your friend, in war. I know what is coming.

Neroon looked at Jha'Dur quizzically. "What do you mean by that?"

She shrugged. "I was just talking to demonstrate the device's ability."

He had to be skeptical. After all, he was a methodical Warrior. "You only switched to Vik. Any intelligent being can do that."

"No, no. Watch my mouth."

Jha'Dur repeated the last statement. Slowly this time. Neroon was amazed to see that the Minbari words he was hearing didn't conform to the way her lips and tongue were moving. She was speaking Dilgari and he was hearing Vik!

She nodded at his realization. "Now you see. It seems that the new aliens put a high value on communication. With us, it usually takes years to learn an alien language. That or undergo surgery to get a dataport in our head and directly download the language." Jha'Dur held up the universal translator. "This is an efficient and useful compromise between the two methods we have."

Now the Minbari was excited. "Can you program other devices like that one?"

Dark amusement gleamed in the feline eyes. "So interrogations would be much easier? Yes, I can. But only the Workers would know how to take it apart and learn how to reproduce the technology."

Neroon agreed.

Setting down the universal translator, Jha'Dur picked up another device similar to the first. "This seems to be a handscanner." A knowing feral smile: "There are, obviously, a lot of possible uses for it, including monitoring a prisoner's condition during interrogation. Or monitoring subjects during experiments. Also reproducible by the Worker Caste."

Neroon only waved a hand to dismiss the technology. The Minbari did not need it for the holy war. Let the Workers amuse themselves with it.

She shrugged, not caring about whether the Minbari should use it or not.

"Now we have their teleportation technology."

Neroon scoffed. "If I were you, I wouldn't put much stock in rumors."

A slanted eyebrow rose in amusement. "My dear Neroon! I have the reports of the battle with that Andorian ship near the Corrin Nebula. And, of course, the reports made by that redoubtable Narn G'Kar to the Kha'Ri. In spite of what you think of them, they do have teleportation technology. As a Warmaster to a leader of the Warrior Caste, I'll tell you this: The proper acts of a general are judgement and prudence."

The Warrior's face darkened at the reproach.

"Anyway," continued Jha'Dur as if she didn't notice Neroon's reaction. "The alien ships salvaged at Signet are too damaged for me to figure out the inner workings of their teleporters. Based on what we could see, I can hypothesize the theories behind their form of teleportation technology. If the Dilgar had succeeded in securing a Vree world or two, I would know how teleportation works. I believe that Earth once experimented with the concept. They only succeeded with tiny particles. Anything more complex had bad results. There's also the Streib. You could politely ask them." She chuckled, delighting in her mischief. "I wonder if it would be good for garbage disposal, interrogations and executions."

Distaste twisted Neroon's lips. It was a good thing that the Minbari people could never do what the Dilgar have done.

"As for their unique food processing technology, again, I can't work with the damages. You were a little too…enthusiastic at Signet." She sipped from her cup again before continuing. "The idea is an excellent one. The range of ships, indeed entire fleets, wouldn't need to be limited by the need for food. Minbari ships, equipped with this technology, could go _anywhere_ in the galaxy!"

"Why should we?" said Neroon. "Minbar and the colonies are all we need. I admit the idea of limitless ranges is appealing, but we only need to preserve ourselves, to reach out to strike down offenders, then enjoy the hearth of our homes."

Jha'Dur shook her head sadly. "You say you are superior to the other races. Curiosity is what got most of us into space, yet it's becoming underrated here. Remember, Neroon, there are those who are truly superior to your people. The Vorlons, for example."

"If I wanted your opinion, I would ask it," snapped Neroon. He pointed at the ceiling, at the stars hidden by it. "We could still put you on a ship to League space, you know."

"Such fragile pride." She chuckled softly. "We're repeating ourselves here. I have no desire to create our own Circle."

"Then remember it, Deathwalker."

She laughed out loud. "So they call me!"

Neroon moved to another part of Jha'Dur's quarters and picked up what was easily recognized as a hand weapon.

"That, Alyt, is a form of laser gun. The laser, however, appears to be phased into different frequencies. There are two settings on that gun: stun and kill. A PLG to our PPG, but it's nothing like our phased plasma weapons at all, except for the phased part." Jha'Dur then picked up another hand weapon, this one distinctly different from the first. "This one is Andorian. Only one setting: kill." She moved the Andorian weapon around in her hands, studying it. "All of the other new alien races have the stun setting. Not the Andorians. I believe that Andorians would get along with Dilgars rather well." She snickered softly. "Too bad we didn't find the Andorians during the Dilgar War."

With a sigh, she exchanged the Andorian weapon for a rifle. "This is a plasma rifle. No phased plasma. Apparently, the aliens either didn't develop a phased laser rifle or haven't brought it with them to Signet. Even so, it has greater firepower than the PLG." The way she examined the rifle allowed it to eventually face Neroon.

The Minbari warrior tensed and wondered if he could use the alien PLG on Jha'Dur in time. Did the Wind Swords deactivate the weapons before bringing them to her? He relaxed when she put the rifle back on its table. Only just a little.

"And this," said Jha'Dur as she picked up a fist-sized cylinder, "is a grenade. A stun grenade, to be exact." She shook her head. "Amazing. The humans who developed this must value life very highly, yet they don't hesitate to kill whole ships in battle." She bounced the stun grenade in her hand, causing Neroon to tense once again. Was the damned Dilgar playing with him? "Expect the humans to try and capture some Minbari with this in ground combat, Alyt Neroon."

He relaxed a bit when she put it back down, picked up her cup and languished on a chaise

"As for their missiles, it's fusion-based. Understandably, the Wind Swords has not brought a sample here." She smiled in a way that said she didn't care. "Have you given any thought to their gravity technology?"

Neroon was puzzled. "What about it? It doesn't matter. Few of the races have gravity technology: the Abbai, Vree, Centauri, Hyach, Yolu, Markab, Streib, and until recently, the Dilgar. We can handle them all. We can handle these new aliens, artificial gravity or no."

She gave a short throaty laugh. He wasn't sure if she was laughing at him. No, he _knew_ she was laughing at him.

"Oh, it matters! Look at the difficulty all these races had in developing artificial gravity. Even the great Minbari people had to have very large gravity generators in those fins of yours. The Centauri have theirs in their ships' tails. The Andorians, Tellarites, Vulcans, and the new humans don't appear to have that problem. That says a lot about their technological development." She extended her hands, indicated the devices salvaged from Signet. "All these say much of their civilizations. All these tell me 'these people are not from around here.' I wonder if they are truly from this galaxy. I also wonder if those other humans are truly from Earth."

A scoff of contempt came from Neroon. "They are from Earth. The Vulcans, Andorians and Tellarites are all from somewhere beyond the rim of Known Space. We will find their homeworlds and punish them."

"Spoken like a true warrior!" Jha'Dur laughed. "Then you think the humans to be actually Earthers who were 'uplifted' by the Vulcans?"

"I do. They are just Vulcan pawns. Just as the Dilgar were mercenaries of the Centauri. The Vulcans are using the Earthers to extend their own sphere of influence into Known Space and to displace our supremacy among the races. Because of that, they are _guilty_ of killing Dukhat, just as sure as if there was a Vulcan standing beside that scum Jankowski, telling him to give the order to open fire!"

"Oh ho! There's a word for that: paranoid! You'd make a wonderful Centauri!"

Neroon threw a hard look at Jha'Dur. "We were uplifted by the Vorlons. The Centauri, though it may not have been their intent, have uplifted a few of the races like the Brakiri, Pak'ma'Ra, Narn and Dilgar. Why should the case be unique to our part of the galaxy?"

"Do you even know, Neroon, what 'uplift' really means?" She was enjoying this. It was a long time since she had this much entertainment. "It means to use science and culture to raise a non-sapient species to sentience. Do you mean to tell me that the Minbari were once unthinking animals that grunted in the plains until the Vorlons came?"

He gritted his teeth, coming close to a growl.

She shrugged. "Who knows? The Vorlons _are_ a very ancient race. They may have visited our worlds before we knew it millennia ago. If you want to be sure of the aliens' origins, give me samples."

Thrown off track, Neroon had to blink before he could react to Jha'Dur's statement. "'Samples'?"

She leaned back on the chaise, languishing and purring with half-closed eyes. Her cup was tilted in her fingers so far that the drink threatened to spill out. "I believe you are fighting enemy ground troops on Signet 4 even as we speak. I need you to capture some of them. Dead _and_ alive. Then I will get the answers for you."

A chill went up Neroon's spine. _'Samples.'_ He has heard of the atrocities committed in the Dilgar War. Jha'Dur Deathwalker, Warmaster of the Dilgar Imperium, had once relished telling him about them in loving detail. He realized something else. Something had been bothering him the entire time he was with Jha'Dur: she smiled a lot but her smiles never reached her cold hard eyes.

"No! We Minbari are better than that!"

She sat up, opening her eyes wide, fingers lightly touching her lips in a false stance of feminine innocence. "Oh my. You _are_ better than that." She smiled scornfully, her eyes blazingly cold and hard. "You and everyone else in the galaxy look back to the Dilgar and say, 'Well, WE could never do that.' But of course you could. Your capacity for greatness is as substantial as your capacity for evil. You must know that duality. Deny it, pretend it simply isn't there or is somebody else's problem, and tragedy will follow." Her smile became nostalgic as she remembered something. "A dead enemy always smells good."

Neroon stared at her with horror.

"I remember you said, 'I am a true warrior. And a true warrior knows his enemy, whoever that may be.' If you would truly know your new enemies, get samples of them. If you must, pretend that your hands are clean and give them to me. What's a few more for a Dilgar like me? Well? Neroon, the god of war hates those who hesitate."

He hated to admit it but she was right. In Valen's Name, he found himself agreeing with Jha'Dur Deathwalker! He'd heard of the terrible weapons that the Wind Swords offered the Grey Council at the start of this holy war. Thank Valen she wasn't trying to push _those_ on him!

He turned to leave. He stopped when she called out to him.

"If you're not prepared to shed useless veneers to achieve Victory, then you're not ready for this war!"

Neroon left, Jha'Dur's laughter following behind.

**Nostromo**

**Minbari Forward Base of Operations**

A Minbari flyer came out of the local jumpgate and made for the moon base established by the Minbari for their holy war. On it, Neroon was still going over the conversation with Jha'Dur back on Minbar. The full conversation was on record and could be viewed anytime, of course, but he preferred to go over it in his mind.

Among the warships arrayed around Nostromo, Neroon could see a Narn Th'Nor light cruiser. His eyes darkened at the sight. Outsiders snooping around in affairs that should remain between Minbar, Earth and its new alien allies. Somehow, the Narn cruiser failed to jump to hyperspace at Signet, so the Narns surrendered at the very first Minbari breath directed at them.

Putting it out of his mind, he piloted the flyer into the shuttle bay of the Shargotti-class warcruiser Regatta. Neroon had already been on his way to Nostromo when he got the summons from Warleader Branmer. As the flyer docked in the cavernous bay, he wondered what occasioned the summons.

Neroon would find out soon.

—+—

Warleader Branmer was standing in the central column of light in the tactical command center when Neroon came through the circular hatch. Another warleader silently stood by, waiting: Shai Alyt Sinoval. On the holodisplay surrounding the chamber, the Battle of Signet replayed itself. The captain of the Ingata searched the warleader's face. All Neroon could see was a hardness he hasn't seen before.

Signet had shattered Branmer's faith in the invincibility of the Minbari. Such a loss of faith was dangerous, especially when that person was once a Priest and was now a Warrior. But, amended Neroon, a holy man who became a warrior was also a dangerous thing.

As long as that danger was directed at the enemy, good.

And his eyes…. Branmer's eyes seemed to light up at the image of battle. Those were the eyes of a soldier zealot, Neroon realized. In losing his faith, he has become a True Seeker—a holy person who has dedicated himself to a higher purpose to serve his people.

The warleader seemed to sense Neroon's eyes. Branmer looked down from the images of battle to the alyt. For a moment, he appeared confused. He looked around the tactical chamber and said, "Where's my aide?"

Sinoval kept his head lowered in respect. "She was killed, Warleader."

Branmer nodded. "Very commendable, very commendable. I will need a new aide." With that, he seemed to put the fallen warrior out of his mind.

A True Seeker, indeed. Neroon felt very honored to be in the presence of a True Seeker dedicated to holy justice. Perhaps he could convince Branmer to see him as a replacement for that late aide. It would be an excellent stepping stone to achieving a high status in Minbari society. 'Satai Neroon' certainly sounds good. "Master, by your summon have I come."

Branmer looked at him again, not noticing Neroon's shift from 'warleader' to 'master'. Sinoval, though, noticed. His eyes narrowed slightly. Branmer said, "We need to open a second front in the war." With a gesture, he mentally commanded the holodisplay to show a map of the Earth Alliance and her bordering neighbors. Blue arrowheads jabbed into the green cloud of the Earth Alliance, turning the stars labeled Vega, Delphi, Deneb, Kandhi and Signet into the blue of Minbari control. Some of the arrowheads were now aimed at Jericho and Cooke.

"A second front will force the enemy to divert ships away from the main thrust at sectors around Signet." Branmer gestured once more and new blue arrowheads appeared to be stabbing at the star systems labeled Canton and New London. "Eventually, the thrusts will form a two-pronged assault at Earth." Branmer paused when Turval, aging leader of the Rangers, entered the chamber. He was accompanied by one of the Warrior Caste Elders, Callier. "After Earth, we will go to the alien homeworlds, once we know their locations. Once I hoped that a simple strike at the Earther homeworld would discourage the humans. Now that human resistance has proven unexpectedly stubborn and their patrons, the Vulcans, have revealed themselves, we will have to take down every colony on the way to Earth."

"I wonder when has we begun to believe the Vulcans to be the Earthers' patron species?" said Turval.

Shai Alyt Sinoval answered for Branmer. "Is it not self-evident? First, the humans arrogantly pit the first of their new starships against the Grey Council at Epsilon 5. Then these Vulcans came to assist the humans. The new technologies that Earth got all appear to be derived from the Vulcans, though weaker." Anger gave an edge to the secondary warleader's voice. "They seek to use the humans to establish control in our part of the galaxy! The might and justice of our cause has forced the Vulcans to reveal themselves and to send their own ships against us!"

"And the Andorians and Tellarites?"

"Only more servant races from the Vulcan Empire!"

Branmer nodded grimly. "That will be the Anla'shok's task: going beyond the rim of Known Space and sift through the stars for their homeworlds."

Turval wearily passed a hand over his eyes. This meant taking the Rangers farther and farther away from the task of watching for the return of Darkness. Neroon could sympathize, but of course, he didn't. Turval had been preparing himself to be a teacher at Tuzanor when the great Ranger leader Lenonn was murdered at Epsilon 5. Being Anla'shok Na, Ranger One, was not his intention at all.

"The Grey Council has been silent on this matter," said Turval, as if that was enough to silence the speculation of Vulcans being Earth's patron species.

Impatiently, Sinoval said, "Is that why you're here, Anla'shok? Because if it is…."

"No, Shai Alyt." Turval stepped forward as if he would brook no more challenge from the Warrior. Sinoval bristled, but Branmer didn't seem to care. The warleader gestured for the Ranger to continue. "We have lost a ship near the Earth system of New London. Before they fell, the Rangers on the Liandra managed to send off a message to another Ranger ship nearby." He glanced at Sinoval as if he knew what would be his reaction. "The ship has been attacked, boarded and seized by aliens who seem to be Vulcans."

Sinoval made a noise that implied an 'I told you so!' Branmer moved slightly to put half of himself into the chamber's darkness. His voice was edged with suppressed anger. "Alyt Neroon, your ship will lead a fleet to secure the New London System."

He bowed, glad at the honor. He was sure that the crew of the Ingata would be just as glad. "Yes, Master."

"Furthermore…," added Branmer as he made a gesture causing the holodisplay to shift. Now Vulcan ships were shown on it. He moved slowly into darkness toward them as if to grasp them and crush them in his fist. "If you see them, all Vulcans are to be eliminated."

Neroon was still bowing. He knew that Vulcan ships were difficult to catch and fight at best. At worst…. "Yes, Master. It is a challenge, and I have always like challenges." Seeing that Branmer was finished, he turned to the Caste Elder Callier and handed him a datacrystal. "Orders from Homeworld. You are to secure…." Neroon paused uncomfortably before continuing. "…_prisoners_ and devices from the enemy on Signet 4."

Callier bowed. "I have an aide on the planet even as we speak. Sonovar will carry out the orders."

"Good," grunted Neroon. Elder Callier left the chamber.

Turval was eyeing Neroon suspiciously, but the Warrior wasn't looking back at him at all. Before the Ranger could make him any more uncomfortable, Neroon asked, "Is there anything I should know about New London?"

Sinoval glanced at Branmer who was still studying the Vulcan ships intently. "We know only this much: the humans once called New London 'Earth Two' early in their spacefaring history. A very unimaginative name, really." He shook his head at that. "The planet has two indigenous species called 'Terrians' and 'Grendlers'. Very strange humanoid species that live underground, much like the Llort." He shrugged. "They shouldn't matter in the assault upon New London."

Branmer nodded and pointed at the Vulcan ships in the holodisplay. "The Vulcans have started this war. We will finish it."

**New London System**

A Vulcan Kir-class combat cruiser is seen to be moving at impulse through the star system. Inside it, a struggling Minbari woman was being forced into a dark room by two gold-helmeted men in checkered uniforms. Once secured in the uncomfortably hard metal chair in the center of the dark room, her arms held by braces on the chair arms, the Minbari woman looked around. There was only one light on the ceiling, shining directly at her face.

"Leave us," said a voice in the shadows.

The two men in checkered uniform thumped their fists on their chests and bowed before leaving. Then the owner of the voice appeared from the shadows. The male humanoid alien had pointy ears, severely cut glossy black hair and a pale green tint in the skin. He wore a checkered uniform similar to those the guards wore, but with an elaborate metal-leather shoulder brace.

"Do not make me ask again," said Centurion Selin Telvor.

"I am a Ranger," replied Lenell, her voice hoarse from previous interrogations. "We live for the One, we die for the One. We go to the dark places where—"

"Your will is strong," Telvor said, interrupting the only answer that Ranger Lenell had given him since her interrogation began. He smiled as he approached the chair. "We shall see how long that will last."

He began once more.

"Entil'zha Veni!" screamed the Minbari.


	16. Eyes on New London

**Xi Bootis A System**

**New London Colony**

The orbital jumpgate activated and a vortex opened. Out of it came a small Vulcan vessel. It immediately aimed its nose at the nearby blue-green planet.

"_Scanning alien craft,"_ announced a computer's voice. _"Detecting particle beam weapons—unarmed. Antimatter detected. Possible uses: power generation and weaponry. Detecting a fusion reactor, an electro-plasma-based propulsion system, and an unknown type of propulsion system. Detecting technologies not on file. Updated recognition protocols identify alien craft as Vulcan."_

"Ah, it must be the Vahklas," noted a seated human woman. She looked around the large round table at the other sitters. A transparent hologram of the small Vulcan ship approaching an orbital space station floated above the table. "Will they be enough?"

A man answered, "It will have to be enough for us. The question is: Will it be enough for the governor?"

The woman sniffed with disdain. "Governor Pemberton has never liked the Board of Regents. Too bad for him. He can't afford offending us in the middle of a war."

Another man said, "Regent Adair is right." His face darkened. "If only Jankowski hadn't gone all paranoid and shot up the Minbari."

"Danziger, it's all right." Adair gently touched her fellow regent's hand on the table. "What's past is past."

Danziger raised a wry eyebrow at her and countered, "What's past is also prologue."

She conceded with a smile. "True."

"Let's hope this story allows as an acceptable ending," said the second woman.

The nine people seated around the round table indicated their agreement. Adair stood up, saying, "Thank you, Regent Solace, for reminding us. It's time to meet these new aliens that Earth has found for us."

xXx

The jumpgate activated once more. This time, the Board of Regents didn't pay attention. A civilian transport came through and maneuvered its way down to the planet. In a room aboard, two men were reviewing a data file on a computer screen. The words on the monitor reported the pictured subject to be Regent Eleanor Adair. The older man pressed a command and the file changed to show the profiles of the Vulcan crew of the Vahklas.

"What do you think?" asked the older man.

"Most of the personnel will be no trouble. Those aliens, however…."

"Anything you can't handle?"

"I don't have to handle them. They're aliens. There's no reason to include them."

"That's not your decision. And they _will_ be included. That's one of the reasons you're here, remember?"

"As you wish. When do we begin?"

"As always, Mr. Bester, when the time is right."

**Vahklas**

The command chair gave a squeak as Captain Tavin swiveled it to look at Tolaris. He resisted the urge to grimace in annoyance at the squeak. Tavin took it as an excellent test of his patience and emotional control. "What do we know about New London?"

Tolaris turned around to a circular monitor behind himself. On it was displayed the planet.

"It was one of the first Earth colonies. As you can see, there are two moons in orbit around New London. Though it is called New London, it was once named Earth 2. There are five continents—one of them in the southern polar region. The colony's capital, New Pacifica, is in the south-western portion of the eastern continent on the shore of an ocean. In our universe, the humans call the planet Terra Nova." Tolaris toggled a semi-spherical control on the monitor, causing it to zoom out away from the planet until the whole system is shown against the reddish background of space. "It is the ninth planet in the Xi Bootis A System. Odd."

"Odd?" Tavin echoed.

"There are weapons platforms and mines scattered throughout the system. That is unusual for any system in the Earth Alliance outside the Sol and Orion Systems. New London is not classified as a major world of the Alliance and should not merit such heavy defenses."

"It will make our task a little easier," quipped Tavin. "That must be why the High Command assigned the system to us."

The overweight Vulcan, Kov, said, "I still don't understand why the Vulcan Council is reluctant to accept us back into Vulcan society."

Tavin now looked tired. "As you recall, we are still V'tosh ka'tur in their eyes. In spite of, or rather perhaps _because_, of our experience at the moon in the Nostromo System, we are indeed still Vulcans Without Logic. The Council wishes to have evidence that we are indeed Vulcans _with_ logic."

Tolaris rolled his eyes, but said nothing.

A gaunt-looking Vulcan reported, "The orbital station has granted us access to the New Pacifica spaceport."

The captain of the privately-owned ship turned back to the main viewer. "Thank you, Mazzin. Take us in."

Soon, the hard unblinking stars became the soft twinkling stars of terrestrial skies as the small ship descended into the planet's atmosphere. Breaking through clouds, the Vahklas came upon the vista of New Pacifica. The colonial capital city hugged a bay that appeared to be the mouth of a large river, but wasn't. The west-facing bay broke the low mountains that rose along the nearly straight coastline that ran on a north-south axis. New Pacifica would remind Earthers of a mix of San Francisco and Rio de Janeiro, especially the bay itself. A canal, gleaming in the sun, ran from the bay inland to access a faintly seen landlocked sea over the horizon.

The city, while not large by Earth standards, was still fairly expansive. As the Vahklas passed over New Pacifica toward the spaceport, they could see bridges over many small canals that served as much traffic as the streets, buildings intermingled with parks, boats on small lakes.

"Tavin," said Tolaris, "I'm detecting weapons batteries on the planet surface—plasma-based and ion-based. The number is small but still notable."

"Curious." As far as Tavin knew, only Earth, Io and Jericho had the privilege of surface batteries. And Jericho only had them because EarthDome decided to make it an important military base in the Alliance. Of course, those batteries were long dead due to a Minbari punitive strike.

When the ship landed, Tavin, Tolaris and Kov disembarked. A welcoming committee led by the planetary governor was awaiting them.

The governor was the only large person among the humans. "Welcome, welcome, three times welcome!" Immediately, he sidled close to Tavin and said quietly, "Can we talk in private?"

The Vulcan captain raised an eyebrow at the sudden request. The governor was breaking protocols. Tavin also caught the humans behind the governor frowning at his back. "Certainly. Tolaris, Kov, will you attend to the usual formalities?"

Kov and Tolaris exchanged a questioning look. "Yes."

With that, Tavin and rotund governor walked off to a waiting shuttle.

The humans and the two remaining Vulcans stared at each other a little uncomfortably. Tolaris then stepped forward and raised his hand, parting his fingers in the traditional Vulcan salute. "Live long and prosper."

One of the women stepped forward. "We are the Board of Regents, or simply, 'the Council.' I'm Eleanor Adair. I apologize for Governor Pemberton's rudeness."

"There was no offense to take. I am Tolaris, second officer of the Vahklas. This is our engineer, Kov."

"Greetings, Miss Adair."

The middle-aged female de facto leader smiled softly. "Just Adair is fine."

Tolaris turned on his charm as he said, "Adair. I can see that we will be working together most adequately."

The regent looked over at Kov and the Vahklas whose three legs rested on the tarmac. She appeared to not care for Tolaris' charm. "Of course. Tell me. Have your people been in contact with the Centauri?"

Kov was puzzled. "No. Our origin is in another universe."

"Well," she said, gesturing at the Vulcan ship. "Those fins. They're very similar to what the Centauri have on their ships."

Tolaris appeared to not appreciate being left out of the conversation. "Vulcan science uses an annular design for our warp engines. It is believed that the design provides a more geometric warp field. The Vahklas is of a design that is too small to fully utilize the warp ring. The fins, as you call them, are a compromise."

Adair smiled at both Vulcans, though her eyes were still on Kov. "Yes. Yes. We will do just fine together."

**Governor's Residence**

**Governor's Island, New Pacifica Bay**

In the governor's home on the largest island in the bay, Tavin admired the view through a large window. Small mountains seem to burst up from the land, looking like giant green and brown sugar loaves scattered throughout New Pacifica. The sun in this part of the planet was hot, but the sea provided cool breezes. The Vulcan knew that this type of climate was perfect for humans. For Vulcans, however, it felt too humid. One of the planet's two moons was visible in the day sky.

A noise caused Tavin to look at a glass cage. Inside was a creature that the Vulcan had never seen in all of his travels. The animal looked like a cross between koala bear and a lemur monkey with leathery skin, vicious-looking claws and large eyes.

"Governor Pemberton, I'm curious. What type of animal is this?"

The governor lazily looked up at what Tavin was looking at. He returned to his task of pouring tea. "It's a koba. It's native to this planet. Not very pretty to look at, isn't it?"

"Appearance is relative," ventured Tavin. "But why is it in a glass cage? Is it not the usual human way to use cages made of interlaced metal bars or wires?"

Pemberton smirked. "If you knew about kobas, you wouldn't ask that question. You see, if you make any sudden or threatening move toward it, it will shoot one of those claws at you."

The Vulcan raised an eyebrow. That sounded like an effective defense for such a small creature. "Poisonous?"

"No. It just makes you unconscious for up to two or three days. Usually just one day. Of course, the toxin would make you seem dead. Only the most careful of medical examinations would see that you're still alive."

"Intriguing."

The human barked a laugh. "You could say that. You could also say that the koba is like New London itself."

Tavin wasn't sure how to take that comment. "I…do not understand."

Pemberton handed one of the steaming tea cups to Tavin. "Of course you wouldn't. You're not from around here. You see, if you make the wrong move around here, you're rendered unable to do anything until you make the natives happy. Not quite deadly, but very uncomfortable."

Tavin frowned. "You are the governor, are you not?"

The fat man shrugged. "It depends. New London has a kind of autonomy that's comparable to Orion 7 and Mars. Of course, it's the kind of autonomy that EarthGov doesn't like but must tolerate. EarthGov appoints the governor, but the real power lies with a council that the natives call the Board of Regents. It's drawn from the founding families of the colony. They're those men and women you saw behind me at the spaceport. It's an open secret that the real power in the colony lies with the Council."

"Interesting," said Tavin neutrally.

"You see, Orion 7 is autonomous only because it's so far away from Earth Central. Mars is autonomous because the Marsies want it and had a rebellion to prove it long ago. New London is somewhat closer to Mars than Orion 7 in that respect. So far, no rebellion. Looks like there won't be any now."

Tavin nodded, seeing what Pemberton was referring to. "The Minbari."

"Yeah. Of course, you're here to help. Earth Central wants you to beef up the frontier defenses."

"Yet, it seems that New London already has an unusual amount of defenses of its own. As far as I know, only the Sol and Orion Systems have comparable defenses."

Pemberton turned to look at a gilt-framed painting. "See the people in that painting? They're the first settlers in Utah, back on Earth. Mormons. They left their homes for Utah to get away from the United States. You see, they didn't like the US very much. Heavy persecution and all that. They were set on having an independent republic in Utah. But then they found out that the United States won a war with Mexico and annexed the lands the Mormons were living on. The settlers had to make do and be part of the nation that rejected them. They couldn't pack and leave again. Not when Utah was their Promised Land."

An upraised eyebrow: "New London is akin to this Utah?"

"The project that founded New London left Earth before the Centauri made First Contact. I must admit it's impressive. Founding an extra-solar colony before we ever had jump technology. Of course, the colonists were surprised when Earth sent jumpships over here."

Tavin could only sip his tea and look back out the window at New Pacifica. The more he knew about New London, the more he didn't think the Vulcan Council made a wise decision sending inexperienced Vulcans to this colony.

The silence was broken by the governor. "Now you're here."

"Indeed."

Pemberton subtly licked his lips. "Your ship and your technology. They could tip the balance in Earth's favor."

"I assume you mean in the context of the war with Minbar."

"Oh, of course, there's that, too." Pemberton looked at Tavin hopefully.

Tavin stared back, feeling uneasy. He realized that the human governor meant to use Vulcan technology to exert control over the New London colony. If push came to shove between humans and Vulcans, what would Tavin do?

What _could_ he do?

**City of New Pacifica**

"Are you sure the others wouldn't mind?"

Adair said, "No, Kov. The Regents will be busy, thanks to your colleague."

The overweight Vulcan and the middle-aged human woman moved along a walkway bordering one of New Pacifica's canals. There were no rails to protect pedestrians from the possibility of falling into the canals. Kov nervously looked at what appeared to be an alien trundling past them. The alien was short, squat, and bipedal with two short arms. It was constantly drooling, it appeared to be almost as hunchbacked as a Pak'ma'Ra and its head appeared too large, rather like an elephant's without a trunk for its nose. It wore a robe that would be ideal for desert conditions with a hood over the head. Disturbingly for Kov's sensitive Vulcan nose, the alien gave off a very pungent body odor.

"Adair, what world does this being come from?"

Kov thought he saw a smirk on Adair's face. "Here. The Grendlers are natives of New London. They are nomads and traders. Anything you need, they're sure to have it. Though they do drive a hard bargain."

Kov was surprised. He had assumed that New London was an entirely human colony. "The more we learn of your world, the more fascinating it is. For example, the Vahklas' sensors have detected thousands of kilometers of caves beneath the planet's surface, not unlike Xantoras. Your planet is a counterpart of the human splinter colony of Terra Nova, but New London seems to be more complex than Terra Nova."

"'Terra Nova'," echoed Adair wistfully. "'New Earth.' We once called this planet Earth Two." Then a frown crossed her face. "Then the Earth Alliance came and renamed it to New London." Adair looked down at the water in the canal beside the walkway. "Tell me about Terra Nova."

Kov spoke almost automatically as he took in the sights of New Pacifica. "I do not know much about human history but Terra Nova was their first attempt at an extra-solar colony. The United Earth Space Probe Agency sent nearly two hundred colonists made up of specialists and families. After a time, the human space agency desired to send a second wave of colonists, but the Novans were not receptive to the idea. Relations with Earth became severely strained to the point where the colony leader threatened to shoot down any vessel that comes in orbit. Shortly after the threat was made, all contact was lost."

"They…rebelled?"

Kov shrugged. "All I know is that the cause for the loss of contact was a meteorite that impacted the planet. Years later, Starfleet was able to send a starship to investigate and contact with the Novans was re-established."

"I see." Adair looked up and around at the capital city. "We once thought of…severing relations with Earth."

Kov's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Is that the…reason for the heavy defenses we detected?"

The middle-aged woman looked at another Grendler lumbering past on the walkway. "We…have not appreciated EarthDome's attempts to bring the colony under their control. We believe that you do not control a planet. We believe in working with the planet. We have dared not rebel openly. Earth's reprisals would have been harmful for our world. We have seen what happened when colonies make moves for independence. Mars, New Jerusalem and Cyrus 3."

"Why are you telling me this?" Kov was puzzled and a little alarmed. Was the colony going to try to use the Vulcans as a way to achieve independence? It all seemed…dishonest.

Adair silently turned to watch a group of children running through a flock of birds, causing them to take flight from the ground. The birds appeared to make a parody of hostile ships flying over the city. It was an uncomfortable image for her so she looked away. "Why are you sad all the time, Kov?"

Thrown off guard by the unrelated question, Kov didn't meet Adair's eyes. Memories roiled in his head and he flashbacked to the moon in the Nostromo System.

_Tasme, the Vulcan woman with hair flowing luxuriantly down around her face, trying to suppress a smile at one of Kov's antics._

_Tasme having difficulty breathing as green blood gushed and bubbled through a nasty gash in her neck until the light went out of her eyes._

Kov drew himself up to his full height and suppressed all emotions that threatened to rise with the memories. He mentally recited the teachings of Surak as revealed by the Kir'Shara on Vulcan. "I am not…sad all the time."

It was Adair's turn to raise eyebrows. "I wonder. Your reaction tells me a different answer."

Before Kov could retort, a human man came up to them. "Adair."

"Danziger. What is it?"

The male Regent was looking worried. His eyes flicked over to Kov, making it clear that what he had to say wasn't for the Vulcan's ears. Adair, however, raised her eyebrows at him, indicating that he should speak in front of Kov.

"There's a man here. Says his name's Peter Smith. He's been asking around how people like the colony and the government. He's claiming that he's from a company that's interested in the planet's development and defense. Quartermaster Corporation."

"Quartermaster…. That's a major military supplier. It's all right, isn't it?"

"Well…. He's been asking specific questions about…us."

"Us?"

"The Council."

Adair didn't like that. Kov was feeling out of his element here and wanted to depart, but he didn't know how to do so without offending the two humans.

"Look into it, will you, Danziger?" said Adair.

"Okay."

"But carefully. We don't need a corporate lawsuit here."

When Adair said that, Kov wondered if the Vulcans shouldn't have gotten involved in the colonial defenses.

**Hotel Giorgione**

**New Pacifica**

Bester appeared to be meditating. He was quietly feeling out his hotel room's 'acoustics' via telepathy. The door chime rang for his attention.

"Who is it?"

"Danziger. I want to see Peter Smith."

"He's not here."

"All right. I'd like to talk to you. Is that all right?"

Bester took a moment before deciding. "Okay. Hold on." He put on black leather gloves and composed himself before unlocking the door. "Come in."

Danziger strode in. He didn't recognize the black-uniformed man, but his eyes flicked down to the PsiCorps badge on the black uniform breast. "Who are you? What're you doing here?"

Bester said nothing.

"Alfred Bester, huh? No, I've never met a PsiCorps teep before. What's Quartermaster doing?"

The young PsiCorps man still said nothing as he looked at the New Londoner.

"Legitimate? Then why—" Danziger realized what was happening, then looked as if he was trying to shake something out of his head. "Get out of my head! You want to talk to me, _talk_ to me!"

Bester smiled. "Apologies. It saves considerable time."

"I don't care. I don't like people rummaging around in my head. I thought the PsiCorps have rules about this sort of thing!"

The Earthman's smile stretched wider. "There are rules and then there are rules."

Danziger decided he didn't like the telepath. "As I was saying, why haven't you contacted either the Council or the Governor if you're interested in our development and defenses?"

The other man, Peter Smith, appeared at the door. "Ah, Mr. Danziger. You're Alan Danziger, one of the Regents in the New London Council."

Danziger was surprised. "I haven't introduced myself, Mr. Smith."

"Of course," rejoined Peter dismissively. "My name's not Peter Smith, by the way. I am Colonel John Drake of EarthForce Internal Affairs."

All Danziger could do was listen with rising alarm.

Drake shrugged dismissively. "The military calls us 'Eyes.' I wouldn't know if it's fitting or not. Mr. Bester here is a specialist on loan from PsiCorps. We're here to conduct an investigation of the New London government."

**New London Council Chamber**

The whole Council was seated at its round table while Drake, now in uniform, and Bester stood before it. Tavin, Kov and Tolaris stood by, observing.

"Recent events," Colonel Drake was saying, "on Ganymede, Mars and elsewhere have shown the need for increased scrutiny of off-world installations, outposts and colonies. Especially in the face of the Minbari invasion. We must know who is loyal to Earth and who is not."

Adair said, "As First Speaker of the Board of Regents, I personally vouch for the loyalty of the colony, and I resent your tactics. You have no right to poke your nose around this colony without my knowledge."

"I have every right, Miss Adair!" Drake pulled a packet of papers from his tunic and smugly flipped it onto the table. "My authority comes directly from the Joint Chiefs of Staff. I'm not here to persecute anyone. I just want to ask some questions and clarify a few details, to make sure that our colonial defenses are manned by those who truly want humanity to live. It's all…fairly routine."

Danziger looked at Bester suspiciously. "And what part does PsiCorps play in this 'routine'? Regulations prohibit the use of telepaths in investigations."

Drake said sharply, "We are at war, Mr. Danziger! To preserve planetary security, all officials, both military and civilian, must submit to telepathic scan as part of an official investigation. Government officials as well."

"Hell! You—"

Regent Solace cut him off with a gesture. "Alan!" She then said softly and with a reconciliatory smile, "I cannot believe that EarthGov is afraid that there are people who would like to see the Minbari victorious. Naturally, we will prove that we are against that idea."

A sneer almost snuck past Drake's coldly held expression. "Of course, Ana Solace. Now, I must meet the Governor. I need him to expedite this matter. The Minbari, after all, won't wait for us to finish. I'll present you with an interview schedule shortly." Here, he glanced at the silent Vulcans. "Meanwhile, you may carry on with whatever you're doing." He turned away, saying, "Mr. Bester." It was a command for him to follow as he walked to the entrance of the dome-like Council chamber.

Bester quietly said, "A pleasure to meet you all."

Drake stopped and stared at Bester until the telepath caught up. The two men exited together.

Tavin was the first to speak in the ensuing silence. "Fascinating. Humanity faces possible extinction and yet elements of your people seek to create dissension in a time of war. It is…illogical."

Adair was rubbing the bridge of her nose. "I don't like it any better than you do, Captain Tavin. More even. We will focus on our defense efforts. I will handle this…'routine' investigation." With that, she turned to look up into the darkness above the Council table. "Eve."

A transparent hologram of a beautiful woman's face appeared over the center of the round table.

"_Voice signature recognized,"_ said the holographic female face. _"Go ahead."_

"Initiate Interweb search. Subjects: John Drake and Alfred Bester."

"_Initiating Interweb search."_

"Thank you, Eve." With that, the holographic face blinked off.

"Eve?" said Tolaris by way of asking.

Adair was grimacing as if what she had just done was distasteful. "Eve is an old sophisticated program in the planetary computer network. It was originally a biological monitoring program, but we have adjusted it to assist colonial government."

Solace added, "Eve's supposed to be…subtle. What Adair did risks exposing the inner workings of the Council to Earth Central."

"But we have to," interjected Danziger. "We can't just throw those men off the planet. The garrison fleet in orbit is loyal to Earth. I'm not sure we could risk…." He looked up to the unseen dome. He was seeing beyond it, beyond the sky. He didn't have to finish his sentence.

The Vulcans understood. Rebellion in the face of the Minbari.

**Governor's Island**

"Are you mad?"

Behind the carved mahogany desk, Governor Pemberton's obese face was flushed red with anger. It nearly matched the reddening sun as it set in the window behind the colony governor. Before him stood Colonel John Drake of EarthForce Internal Affairs. "Eyes have no jurisdiction over government officials! It's supposed to be for the military only!"

"Not anymore, it's not," retorted Drake. "We're in a state of war and as such, all aspects of society are considered military assets."

Pemberton looked as if he may pop a vein. "Well, you've just pushed this colony to the brink of sedition!"

Calmly, Drake replied, "They wouldn't dare. Not with the garrison fleet in orbit. I've made sure of their presence and loyalty."

The governor's face, previously red, was now pale. "You…you wouldn't dare. These are our people! Humans!"

"Exactly. Remember Mars, Israel, Cyrus 3 and New Jerusalem? Humans are a fractious and fickle species. We're here to make sure the Minbari do not have the benefit of that nature."

Pemberton, at a loss for words, stared at Drake with barely concealed distaste and alarm.

**Vahklas**

Kov, as he slept, was tossing and turning in his bed.

_The rotund Vulcan man found himself on one of the many bridges over New Pacifica's canals. It was night and very foggy. Kov was wearing a brownish tan uniform woven of a reflective metallic material—like the uniforms worn in the Vulcan High Command._

_Distorted laughter came from all around him and then he heard a woman's voice: "Kov! Kov!"_

_Looking down from the apex of the bridge, Kov saw a woman in religious Vulcan robes lying on the street beside the canal. He started for her and then found himself in a dark maze of mirrors. Illogically, the woman was now right at his feet, lying face down._

_Bewildered, Kov decided to ignore the mirrors and bend down to the woman. He turned her over and gasped. It was Tasme._

_As Kov stumbled back away from Tasme, her face slowly twisted—melted—into a mockery of it. She now looked as if she was wearing a Greek tragedy mask. But it was Tasme's own face, grotesquely twisted._

_She stood up from the floor. "Why?" she said softly through her tragedy face._

_Suddenly, some invisible force struck at Tasme. She fell back, clutching her neck. A mirror shattered as her body went through it._

_Kov was having difficulty breathing now. Eyes wide, he knew what was happening: a re-enactment of Tasme's death. He wanted to look away from the sight, but he was frozen to the spot._

_Green blood now gushed through fingers clutching at Tasme's neck. Beyond the shattered mirror was one of the many small parks of New Pacifica. It was painfully bright outside now. The whole world was whitewashed with sunlight._

_Kov was startled when a humanoid alien burst up through the soil. He appeared to be caked with mud and soil, and was holding a spear-like wooden staff topped with a decorative-seeming metal object. The alien appeared to look straight at Kov and opened its mouth slightly. A trilling sound came out, almost like a whale singing. _

_The Vulcan looked down at Tasme. Her face slowly melted into something like a Greek comedy mask. In spite of the bubbling blood, she said, "Only one way out. Only one way."_

_He looked up at the alien. The soil-caked alien had become a baked clay statue of Surak, both hands split in the traditional Vulcan greeting at his sides. It shattered explosively._

Kov woke screaming from his nightmare. He cried in gasping sobs, and then called for the lights. He sat there in bed, trying to compose himself.

xXx

Kov was in the home of Regent Eleanor Adair. He would have expected an important government official such as Adair to live in a large home. Instead, the middle-aged woman lived in an apartment overlooking one of the city canals and parks. He saw a framed photograph of a younger Adair standing with a man and two children—a boy and a girl. The Vulcan then looked around at the apartment which had the appearance of someone living alone.

Pointing at the picture, Kov asked, "Is that your family?"

Adair gave it a short look. "Yes. The children are away in college. The man…he's the children's father, but he's not my husband. Never was. He's on Mars."

Kov nodded slowly. He understood that humans had complex relationships whereas Vulcans were generally monogamous—something that was forced by their nature. He looked at another picture, this one much larger and hung on a wall. It showed a group of humans. They had physical resemblances to the current members of the Board of Regents. Three women, four men—one was dark-skinned, and a young boy and girl.

Adair saw what he was looking at. "They're the Eden Advance Team—our ancestors and the founders of the colony. John Danziger, Devon Adair, Alonzo Solace, Dr. Julia Heller, Yale, Morgan and Bess Martin, and the children True Danziger and Ulysses Adair." She could see that Kov was studying the picture without seeing it. She sat in the couch beside him. "Something brought you here. It's certainly not my taste of interior décor."

He was slightly startled. Sometimes he thought it was unfortunate that humans understood emotions all too well. "Indeed," he conceded. "Are the Grendlers the only sentient natives on New London?"

She nodded knowingly, though she was a little surprised. "The Terrians. You told me that your ship detected a network of caves under the planet's surface. They live there. Earthers call them 'Diggers.' They have a complex tribal system and they're peaceful. They are the planet."

Kov raised an eyebrow. It was an odd statement: 'They are the planet.' He dismissed it as part of the Terrian tribal beliefs. "Do they appear…humanoid, but covered in soil, use a form of communication similar to that of whales on Earth, and…" Here, Kov appeared embarrassed to recount something incredulous. "…appear to have the ability to travel through solid earth?"

Another knowing nod. "You dreamed about them, didn't you? Don't worry. They're real. They communicate with humans through dreams."

"Is that…telepathy?"

Adair shrugged. "Who knows? Telepaths haven't detected that ability in Terrians. They haven't sensed it in the dreams either. I think dreams are on a different level than telepathy. The Dreamtime doesn't require telepathy at all." She focused fully on Kov. "Tell me about the dream."

"One of these…Terrians came up from the ground and…sang to me. He held a pole. Then he became a clay statue that…exploded."

Adair frowned, disturbed by that imagery. "What about the rest of the dream?"

"What?" Kov was trying to be innocent.

"You're not telling me everything. Terrians don't go to off-worlders in the Dreamtime without a good reason. I'm guessing that reason has to do with whatever's keeping you sad."

"But I'm not—!" Kov stopped mid-sentence upon seeing the admonitory look in Adair's eyes. He took refuge in the discipline of logic. "Wouldn't the reason be our technology? That's what would benefit New London's defense and dreamed-of revolution, would it not?"

Adair smiled tolerantly. "It would. Terrians are not interested in technology. That's for us humans to handle. They're interested in life. New London's interested in life." That last sentence caused Kov to raise an eyebrow once more. "Right now, we're interested in you."

He now felt uncomfortable under Adair's intense gaze.

**Hotel Giorgione**

John Drake was sitting at a small table in the middle of the room, studying Adair's file on a tabletop monitor. Bester paced around the room restlessly.

The telepath sighed and came up to Drake. "Aren't you tired of studying that file?"

"Adair is a…complex woman. I need to know everything about her—including her secrets."

Bester raised an eyebrow with amusement. "You know PsiCorps prohibit deep scans—"

"Oh come off it, Alfred!" Drake stood up angrily. "You work for EarthGov. I'm chosen by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, so you work for me!"

Bester stiffened, clearly not liking being admonished by a mundane. "Yes, sir."

Forgetting about the short argument, Drake went back to the file on Adair. He didn't see the dark look on Bester's face directed at him. "There have been strange rumors about New London right from the beginning. EarthDome has never quite brought these 'Diggers' under control. The aliens are still free and untouched by Earth in spite of human colonization."

"So?" Bester didn't see why Drake was worried about some alien primitives. "They would never be able to resist Earth's military might. Too primitive. Besides, they've never interfered with the colonization process."

"Maybe. I just have to wonder why they haven't."

Now Bester was vastly amused. Paranoia could be so funny! "You mean a deal?"

"Why not? Either there's a deal between the New Londoners and the Diggers or…there's alien contamination of the people here."

Amused again, Bester echoed, "'Alien contamination'?"

Drake looked up sharply at the other man. "Yes. It has happened before. The Helsinki Complex? The cults on Earth? The filthy adoration humans once had for the Centauri."

Bester shrugged dismissively. "Easily handled with a tinkering in the mind. If there's any deal, I should be able to pick it up in their minds."

"Can you tweak the genetic code?"

"What? What are you talking about?"

Drake spun the computer monitor to show Bester. "I can't get into the medical files on Miss Adair! It has been classified! Now I'm wondering if the contamination is not limited to the mind."

Bester flashed a wide mocking smile. "My, what a dirty mind you have, Colonel!"

The Internal Affairs colonel didn't care for Bester at all. If it was his choice, he wouldn't have brought a telepath into this investigation. Though he had to admit telepathy has its uses. "First, I want you to check out the Vulcans. Diggers may not be the only aliens these colonists have a deal with. You sure you can handle them?"

The PsiCop shrugged. "It's never comfortable to scan alien minds, but if we must, we can do it."

xXx

Kov ate alone. The restaurant was a casual place that offered cuisines from across the sector and from the cultures of Earth. Today, he chose to eat dolmades—stuffed grape leaves. He thought about the conversation with Adair. When she demanded that he explain the rest of the dream, he didn't feel comfortable about telling her about it. Illogical, he knew, but he simply couldn't come out with it. Accordingly, he made up an excuse to leave.

Other Vulcans would accuse him of illogical and emotional behavior. Kov began to feel more depressed as he popped a dolmade in his mouth. He wanted to go back to the logical society of Vulcan and stop being V'tosh ka'tur. It now appeared that the venture wouldn't be without its setbacks.

He noticed a black-uniformed human man enter the restaurant. The Earther telepath Alfred Bester. He looked around, seeming to search for someone. He stopped when he saw Kov eating alone.

He was apparently looking for the Vulcan. Kov suppressed the urge to sigh and bristle. He just wanted to be alone at this moment. Bester approached him and asked to join him.

"Is this part of the Internal Affairs investigation?"

Chuckling, Bester sat down. "You're charming in a strange way. Well, the fact is, I'm bored. Everyone here is a mundane."

"'Mundane'?"

Pilfering a dolmade for himself, Bester said, "Non-telepaths. Those who can't enjoy the delights of telepathy."

Kov said nothing to that. The more he learned of the PsiCorps, the more he didn't think Vulcan would appreciate it, and the more he saw differences between Terrans and Earthers. The Earthers might as well be a completely alien culture with similarities with the Coridans and the Tandarans. He watched Bester as the telepath ordered a glass of iced water.

"You know, Kov, I watched that ISN report on your universe. A guy in it said that Vulcans have telepaths. Is that true?"

He didn't want to answer this character, so he evaded the question. "Vulcans prize knowledge and honesty."

"So I noticed. So do we." At a skeptical raised eyebrow, Bester added, "There's honesty and then there's honesty. But the pursuit of knowledge is the same everywhere, isn't it?"

"I'm curious," said Kov. "I have not encountered a race that keeps their telepaths under control. Is the PsiCorps the only one of its kind?"

"Interesting. So your universe doesn't have many telepaths to deal with. I wonder why." The waiter came with his water and Bester continued. "Telepathy needs to be controlled. Otherwise, violations of privacy would abound. Even the alien races recognize this. For example, the Arnassians recruit all female telepaths into their elite military corps, the Voc!lad." Between the first and last syllable of the word, Bester gave a short whistle. "Telepaths born of royal blood are rigorously trained and given a chance to ascend to the imperial seat." He smiled as if he wished that Earth adopted something similar. "In the meantime, all male telepaths are reserved for the dynastic and Voc!lad harems and trained to be receptive only to the females."

Kov didn't think much of the Arnassian form of telepathic control.

"There's the Centauri," said Bester. "The Centauri identify telepaths before birth through genetic screenings. The children are put in the local Noble House's fosterage until telepathy manifests itself. They are then put into the Telepath Guild. The Guild is mostly a commercial organization but it's supervised by the government. It's similar to the Mix in PsiCorps."

"Why do you restrict and regulate your telepaths?" Kov genuinely wanted to know.

"Isn't it obvious? The mundanes fear us. They have secrets they'd rather anyone else not to know." Bester held up his black-gloved hands. Kov noticed that the left hand didn't move as much as the right hand. Non-functional? "These are a symbol of the restrictions. They're practical, too. Prevents accidental scans through touch. The alien races know this."

"Do they?" wondered Kov out loud. "Did I not say that Vulcans prize knowledge and honesty? Telepaths are not controlled by many other races, like the Abbai and Hyach."

Bester shrugged dismissively. "I doubt you really know any of our people well. No one can tell you everything about PsiCorps—especially Miss Adair."

Suddenly angry, but not showing it on his face, Kov accused, "You're scanning me."

Bester raised his eyebrows in surprise. "The thought of Miss Adair was very loud in your mind. There was another woman under that…Ta-something." He didn't recognize the subtle darkening look in Kov's eyes. "I couldn't help but pick it up. Please…pardon me." The telepath paused before adding, "I am surprised you were aware of it. Unless…. Of course! Sinclair must be right! I wonder if the same's true for Vulcan women— Tasme!"

Suddenly, Kov felt pain as a telepathic probe slammed into his mind. Bester had hoped to throw him off guard by mentioning Vulcan women and seizing upon Tasme's name brought up by that mention. Angered by this violation that Bester admitted was against Earther laws, Kov seized the tendril of human mind snaking into his own and opened up the dam holding back the raw emotions present in every Vulcan. Only for a very short time. Less than a second. Any more and he would render the human telepath insane.

Bester cringed and then snapped his head back as Kov suddenly released his mental tendril.

A passing waiter asked Bester with concern, "You all right?"

Shakily, Bester touched his right temple. "Just a sudden headache."

The waiter nodded sympathetically and went on with his business.

Bester looked at Kov and saw a ghost of a smile wavering on Kov's relaxed face. "That is a fraction of what we could do, Mr. Bester. You and all other 'PsiCops' are never to attempt this ambush on me or on any Vulcan. Ever. Is that clear?"

Bester didn't hesitate to agree, though his eyes were wide at the pointy-eared alien that he had thought to be as mundane as any normal human. Kov knew he was a PsiCop without scanning his mind! How?

After a while of silence, they noticed people running in the streets outside the windows. Other customers in the restaurant noticed as well and moved to see what was going on. A beep sounded from a customer's cell phone. It was joined by more and more signals interrupting lunches and conversation throughout the restaurant. Kov's communicator trilled for attention as well.

Kov stared Bester down while he took the call.

"_Kov, this is Tavin. Come to the Council. Our presence is urgently needed."_

He got up and left the restaurant without another word to Bester who sat for a while before finally answering his own trilling cell phone.

**Council Chamber**

Kov barged into a chamber full of murmuring officials. It seemed that the whole local government was summoned, except for Governor Pemberton. The Board of Regents, the power of the Council, sat at the round table in the middle of the dome-like chamber. Captain Tavin was already there.

The hubbub quieted down when the governor came in, flanked by Colonel Drake and Bester. Kov refused to make eye contact with the human telepath out of contempt. Shame, however, prevented him from making eye contact with Adair.

Adair, seeing the governor's entrance, stood up at the table and signaled an end to the murmurs in the chamber. "We have received news from the Canton colony. They are under attack."

Kov looked around at the others in the chamber. Shock, surprise and despair were expressed. He noticed a few who didn't appear surprised. Pemberton was one of them. The fat Earther, instead, began to look beaten. Tavin looked on, showing nothing on his face. Kov, having known the captain for a long time, recognized grimness in him.

Adair's words continued to fill the chamber. "A Vree trading vessel sent this recording after it fled into hyperspace."

A hologram appeared above the round table, showing the starry black velvet of space. A jumpgate hung in the distance. It activated and a horde of Minbari fighters swarmed out of it. The image shuddered and shifted as the Vree vessel increased speed away from the jumpgate and the swarm of Nials. The fighters, however, paid little heed to the trader as they flew at a green-blue planet barely seen to the side of the recording. Flashes of weapons fire and explosions livened up the planet's orbital space, indicating combat between the Minbari and orbital defense satellites and patrol craft. Larger defense craft rose up from the planet's surface.

Then lights pierced the fabric of space before forming into jumppoints. Minbari warcruisers roared out of the jumppoints, firing all energy weapons and launching more fighters.

The camera shuddered again as the Vree trader activated jumpengines and the vista was quickly replaced with that of hyperspace.

The recording deactivated. Adair looked haunted as she spoke. "Since receiving the report, we have lost all contact with the colony. We must assume that Canton has fallen. As you know, Canton is in the Xi Bootis B System. We must therefore assume that…" Her voice nearly broke as she said the next three words: "…we are next."


	17. We Tunnel

_RL Seward: Thank you. Fixed._

_Worker72: The Minbari do not know about the Terrians.;) As for Telvor...well...right now he's focused on getting the captured Liandra to Romulus (in other words, go through the rift at Sol without being caught). The research bases on Remus would havea field day with the Ranger ship and the Rangers themselves...IF Telvor succeeds in this mission, that is._

_DuQuesne: Yes, the First Ones should be doing something, especially the Vorlons, don't you think? Usually, the Vorlons prefer to let the Younger Races handle things. If necessary, they would manipulate from behind the scenes.However, when events call for it, they would interfere directly. This will come up later on._

_Alatoic01: 'New London' is something that's usually reserved for city names. Yet there are other planets in the EA that had city names: New Jerusalem, Berlin, New Kobe, etc. Even the new colony Tau Ceti (to be founded after the Minbari War) is sometimes called New Paris._

_Allen Pitt: Yes, a fixed point would be harder to assault. The Minbari will find this out at New London._

_Artemis1000: You'll be glad to know that the Andorians will make an appearance in the chapter after this one. The Minbari do not know there's Romulans afoot. All they knew were that VULCANS attacked and captured a Ranger ship. Of course, this will mean the Minbari dragging the Vulcans kicking and screaming into the war._

_Everyone else, thanks for the comments. Any question that wasn't answered here will be addressed in the course of this story._

_Enjoy!_

**Minbari warcruiser Trigati**

**In orbit around Canton**

A Shargotti, flanked by two Sharlins, stood guard above a Minbari fleet in orbit around a planet. Fighters, shuttles, flyers and transports moved between the planet and the warcruisers.

xXx

In the tactical center of his ship, Sinoval gazed at the image of the human planet in the holodisplay. The planet was barely habitable: though there were settlements in the open air, many of the humans lived in domes. Canton was disappointingly easy to conquer. At least, it allowed him to quickly implement Warleader Branmer's order to create a second front in the war against the humans and to neutralize all colonies on the way to Earth.

"Why?"

Sinoval turned at the voice. It belonged to a Minbari man who had a beard but no mustache, standing in his own pillar of light. Behind him in a third pillar of light was a woman who would be called beautiful but for her headbone which was carved like that of a vicious spiky crown favored by male Warriors.

"Alyt Kalain?"

The alyt drew himself up. Shai Alyt Sinoval was not one who would demand that he show respect by never making eye contact. "We should have taken the human colony called New London before Canton. The direct hyperspace route goes from Tr'Es'Na to Quadrant 15 and then to New London. We should be taking the human colonies one by one in the order that our fleets could travel the spacelanes."

Sinoval glanced at the female Warrior. "Rii Deeron, do you agree with him?"

Deeron's lips almost curled in contempt. Almost. "Yes, Shai Alyt. Canton is too easy."

The fleet captain almost smirked at Deeron's nearly insolent attitude. "New London is said to be a fortified colony. Besides, reports have come that a Ranger ship was captured there by Vulcans. As you know, Vulcan ships have the annoying habit of breaking our stealth in battle."

"So you think there are Vulcans at New London," Deeron said. It wasn't a question.

Sinoval turned back to the image of Canton. It was not a particularly beautiful planet, but it had a beauty of its own—it was mostly clouds moving over muddy water and muddy land and mountains. No wonder the humans preferred to live in domes where environments approximating those of Earth could be had. On the night side, a tiny explosion flared and then died out. Probably a factory or a spaceport being destroyed—neutralization was moving apace. "New London is the key to destroying Earth morale and defenses. The key must be in our pocket." Sinoval looked back at his officers. "Once Canton is neutralized, call the fleets together for New London."

Kalain and Deeron bowed.

**New London**

The EarthForce garrison fleet still hung in orbit above the Earth-like planet. Fighters flew in their patrol routes.

**Council Chamber**

**New Pacifica**

Adair watched as the recording played once more: A jumpgate activated, allowing Minbari fighters to swarm out and fly at the planet Canton. Flashes of weapons fire lit up the planet's orbital space as defense satellites and patrol craft opened up at the Nials. Then blue jumppoints blossomed and Minbari warcruisers entered the fray firing all weapons and launching more fighters.

"We must forget this…insanity of the Internal Affairs investigation," said Danziger.

Tavin nodded once, indicating his agreement.

Colonel John Drake threw a sharp look at the Vulcan captain. "This only makes the investigation by _Internal_ Affairs all the more vital."

Tavin arched an eyebrow at the emphasis on the word internal made by the colonel. Meanwhile, Adair was still in her own world and Bester was pretending not to study the three Vulcans.

Danziger was losing patience with Drake. "The Minbari are coming! It doesn't matter who's loyal or not—if we don't do something we're all dead!"

Drake looked icily at the male regent before answering. "We _are_ doing something. From the time I was a little snot-nosed boy, I've loved the Earth Alliance. It is the most remarkable institution ever conceived. It is my purpose that this extraordinary nation is preserved." His look turned suspicious. "I cannot imagine why you're trying to block this investigation. There have been others who got in the way in the past, others who've tried to undermine the Alliance. They came to regret it."

Danziger's face darkened at the implied threat. "If you have a case against us, make it. If not…." He touched Adair's shoulder gently and signaled for the other regents to leave the room.

"Stay right there, mister!" Drake was angry now. Bester only watched, looking amused. "I've seen plenty like you! Corrupt people who try to subvert the Earth Alliance and play with the strings of power in the colonies and make us vulnerable to alien influences. The cancer of this Council has grown to the point where the governor himself can't sneeze without your say-so! I will find out why you're trying to block this investigation. Mark my word, Regent Danziger, I will find out!"

Adair came out of her reverie and looked around at the men. She sighed as she gestured for Danziger to calm down. "Colonel, like Regent Danziger said, if you have a case, please make it."

"Oh, ganging up on me, are you? Well, think again! As of this moment, martial law is in effect and you are suspended pending an inquiry before a full tribunal!"

"WHAT!" Danziger couldn't believe it. Nor could the Vulcans.

"You heard me! As the highest ranking military official on New London, I'm assuming command of its defenses. With my help, Pemberton will be a real governor for the first time!"

Danziger looked ready to hit Drake. "You son of a—" But Regent Solace jumped in.

"Alan, stop. Easy. He's trying to bait you. He's hoping you'll make a mistake—the kind that would get you sent to EarthDome in a prison ship."

Adair said coolly, "What is your justification for this action?"

"I am authorized by the Joint Chiefs. Since New London is the most important military asset in the sector right now, its defense falls to me as the highest ranking officer." Drake pointed at Bester who pretended to be startled. "With his help, I will expose you for who—_what_ you are. I _will_ make sure you do not undermine the Earth Alliance and let the Minbari take this colony." With that, Drake went out the door with Bester in his wake.

"That is…," Tavin put in softly, blinking and frowning with confusion, "…illogical."

Danziger threw up his hands. "Tell me about it!"

Adair only turned back to watch the recording once more, imagining that Canton was New London.

xXx

The three Vulcans walked briskly down a street in the city. They needed to get to the Vahklas.

"Tavin," said Tolaris, looking at the elder Vulcan sideways, "now that the Minbari arrival is imminent, what are we to do?"

The captain knew that Tolaris could only be hinting that he felt it may be prudent to leave the planet. "As the events of this war have shown, Earther weapons are useless against the Minbari unless they are able to target their warships. Signet has shown that to be possible."

Tolaris stopped walking. "Signet? Wait. I may have been a literature teacher at ShiKahr, but I am not unaware of the military aspects of life. Are you suggesting that we stay here, risk our lives for humans who have nothing to do with us and help them…fight?"

Tavin and Kov stared at Tolaris. "Do you value the humans so little?" asked Kov.

"Humans—" Tolaris paused to gather his thoughts before continuing. "Humans have shown an unusual capacity for resourcefulness and resilience."

Tavin said, "Left to their own devices, how do you gauge their chance of survival against the Minbari?"

In a small voice, he replied, "There is no chance."

"And with subspace sensors at their disposal?"

"There chance is significantly increased. But there is no way for us to know if _we_ would survive the Minbari ourselves."

"Ah." Tavin took on a posture of a lecturer. "So you seek to preserve yourself."

Tolaris stood silently and impassively.

"For humans, the capacity for sacrificing yourself for a cause, a friend or a loved one is to be admired. I hear from the Centauri that the same is true for the Minbari."

The young Vulcan raised an eyebrow and looked like he was about to laugh at the implication.

"And no, Tolaris, I am not asking you to die. I am merely…asking you to help the humans, using the Vahklas. Before you ask, no, the Vahklas will not meet the Minbari in battle."

Tolaris grunted his satisfaction.

Before they could move on, Bester appeared from around a corner with a smile.

"Hello."

The three Vulcans drew themselves up defensively.

"It must have been uncomfortable in there—the argument between the Council and the Colonel."

Tavin arched an eyebrow disdainfully at Bester. "I am not certain I can sanction any action against this colony based on the use of telepathy."

"You do not have to 'sanction' anything, Mr. Tavin," shot back Bester. "You're an off-worlder." He took a breath. "We have a need to know how certain minds feel about EarthDome. Only PsiCorps is qualified to do that." He then appeared stressed and regretful. "We bear a great responsibility. So in the interests of efficiency, we're afforded greater latitude."

"I must admit…," Tavin was saying, "that I am uneasy with the use of a telepath in this manner."

"Surely, you are aware of the advantages in finding the truth?" Bester was looking directly at Kov.

Tavin was tempted to twist his lips in contempt of the human telepath. "There is a difference between an investigator and an investigator who happens to be a…'PsiCop.'"

Bester smiled brightly. "Of course! There's always a difference between us and mundanes. We have our uses. Besides…spies and saboteurs don't like the bright light of our…form of inquiry. They're like roaches, scuttling for the dark corners."

With that, Bester reached out in an attempt to scan Tavin and Tolaris but avoiding Kov. He was surprised to find himself blocked and his scans slipped off of the two Vulcans.

By the look on their faces, they knew what just happened. Bester blanched. Are they all telepaths?

Tavin's eyes were full of disgust. "We have thought that humans have come far…the torture of heretics and the burning of witches is ancient history. And then…we met you.

"I'm flattered," deadpanned Bester.

Tolaris smirked at the PsiCop's insolence. But Tavin and Kov didn't like it. All they could do was walk away.

xXx

The Vahklas was still on the tarmac of the spaceport, supported by its three legs.

Kov tested the controls in the communications console onboard the ship. He said, "Using the tachyon relays, it would take a long time before we can get any response."

"Yet, any subspace communication would have a large amount of static," said Tavin. "We are still in the process of installing subspace relays throughout the Earth Alliance." He came to a decision: "Open a channel to the Rift Station in the Sol System. We need the High Command to send combat cruisers to relieve the colony and allow us to return home."

Tolaris snorted cynically. "If they think we're important enough to rescue, of course."

The door to the command center opened and Adair stepped through, flanked by Solace. Kov consciously avoided looking at Adair who pretended not to notice.

"How are you going to help us, Captain Tavin?"

"Regent Adair, the Vahklas has two sets of sensors: the lateral sensors and the translinear sensors. The translinear sensors are capable of scanning a whole star system, while the lateral array is used for short range detailed scans. With it, we could accurately target anything from New London to the eighth and tenth planetary orbits."

Adair and Solace frowned. "That…doesn't sound like a ringing endorsement for the Vahklas to go out there and help in the defenses."

"On the contrary," put in Tolaris, "we are going to manually connect our sensor systems to the scanner arrays of your defense satellites, mines and ships in the system. Our computer could quickly analyze the data and send telemetries to your targeting scanners. With them, you can target the Minbari." At the two New Londoner women's expression of skepticism, he added, "We may be civilians but we have learned enough from the reports of the battle at Signet."

Adair nodded. "It will have to do. We thank you. We would have thought you were preparing to leave."

Tavin threw a quick glance at Tolaris. "That was a distinct possibility. Shouldn't you prepare an evacuation of your own?"

"Yes, we should. In fact, many of our people have chosen to depart for Dakota Colony or beyond, but most are choosing to go underground."

"Underground?" Tavin didn't like the implication of that. If the Minbari land, there would be no escape for them.

"Please understand, Tavin," said Solace. "We love our home. We have a…connection to this planet and its…natives, the Terrians."

Tavin dipped his head gravely. "Very well. It is within your sovereign rights to remain here."

"Thank you. May I ask a favor of you?"

Kov listened earnestly while keeping himself busy with the engineering console and the sensor tie-ins.

Adair looked around at the ship's bridge, admiring it. "I want to use your subspace communicator to call EarthDome. I would have words with them about the Minbari and…those Eyes men. Then I want to call Dakota Colony."

Tavin gestured toward Mazzin's console. "Go ahead. However, the subspace channels are not as clear as we would like at this distance from Sol without relay buoys to strengthen the signals. But Dakota is near enough for a clear channel."

"Well, anything's better than using our usual stellarcom. It's sure to be bugged by Colonel Drake."

"'Bugged'?"

"Installing a program or device to eavesdrop on conversations."

Tavin hadn't thought of that. "Indeed."

xXx

It was night in New Pacifica. Usually, the city lights would keep the dark of night at bay from its streets and canals, but not tonight. Because of the specter of the Minbari at Canton, the city, like all other settlements in the night side of the planet, was now in an artificial black out.

However, lights still shone at the spaceport where transports were loading cargo and passengers for the flight to Dakota or to other locations on New London. Shadows shifting in lines were civilians moving toward the transports. Many of them stole furtive glances at the small Vulcan ship still parked in the spaceport.

In the Vahklas, Kov was sleeping. He had made sure to meditate before going to bed to keep himself free of dreams.

It worked. But then suddenly he found himself in a dark place, disoriented by the effects of many flashing colored lights. Whenever the colored lights got bright enough, Kov thought he could see that he was in a maze of mirrors.

In one of the mirrors, Kov saw himself. Then in the next light flash, he was surprised to see another man instead of himself in the mirror—a robed man. His robes were those worn by Surak in icons and on statues. But…the head was covered—hidden—in a white towel. The background, which looked like water, moved in an odd pattern. An odd trilling sound, like that of Terrians or whales singing accompanied the towel-covered man. He was pointing to something beyond the mirror's side.

Anticipating the next flash of colored lights, Kov turned to see what the towel-covered man was pointing at.

A Terrian was standing in the dark place with Kov. Somehow, the Vulcan was expecting that. He was holding a shining jewel toward Kov. It was a large emerald. Kov took it in his fist. Opening the fist, the jewel had become a Vulcan heart, still beating in Kov's open hand. Green blood pooled in his hand.

Trembling, but daring not to drop the heart, Kov looked up at the Terrian in horror. He had become Surak. "Logic is at the heart of every Vulcan. But there is a price."

In the next flash of colored lights, the heart had vanished and in the mirror before Kov was a woman. She seemed to be looking down at the floor so that her shoulder-length hair hid her face. The hair appeared to be darkly wet.

In the next flash of colored light, the woman was suddenly standing right in front of Kov instead of in the mirror. Kov stumbled back in surprise. The woman lifted her face slightly, allowing her hair to part and reveal one eye.

Kov was horrified to recognize the eye. Tasme's eye. And the wetness in her hair—it was blood. He stumbled further backward.

In the next light flash, she was gone.

Instantly, Kov regretted backing away from her. He reached out at the now empty mirror—empty even of his own reflection. He turned around at the mirrors in the maze. Directly behind him was Adair, looking directly at him, her face expressionless.

He woke up with a gasp.

xXx

Kov entered the Vahklas' medbay. Tolaris was there, preparing the medicines for the coming Minbari assault. He wasn't expecting him.

"I…I have a headache." Not exactly a lie. Kov was indeed feeling something akin to a headache.

Taking a medical tricorder, Tolaris scanned Kov. "You have much higher blood pressure than usual and there unusual synaptic activity." He turned away to reach for more instruments and gestured towards the diagnostic bed.

"That's unnecessary," said Kov defensively. "I…just need inaprovaline and more meditation."

Tolaris was surprised. "You didn't meditate?"

"Oh, I did."

"Then…?" Tolaris waited for Kov to elaborate on what was bothering him. It was clear to him: he was acting nervous. And he looked tired as if he hadn't slept at all.

Kov merely stood there silently and stared at Tolaris.

The taller and trim Vulcan reached out for him. "If something is disturbing you, perhaps—"

Kov shouted, "Stop it! Just because I cried like a baby to you, it doesn't mean we're on intimate terms!"

Tolaris stared at Kov, taken aback at his sudden outburst of anger.

The corpulent Vulcan calmed down and massaged the bridge of his nose. When he felt confident of his emotional self-control, he said, "I apologize, Tolaris. You taught literature at the ShiKahr Academy, correct?"

"Yes…," replied Tolaris cautiously.

"I've heard the term 'tarul-etek.' What is it?"

The former teacher was surprised again, but he answered. "It is a practice of showing a person horrifying images to evoke an emotional response to test how well they can suppress their emotions."

"Was our watching Earth films a form of tarul-etek?"

"I— That's a point I had not thought of, Kov. Perhaps it is." Tolaris was looking at his friend with concern.

"I know Vulcans do not thank others but…thank you, Tolaris." With that, Kov left the medbay, leaving the other Vulcan confused and even more concerned.

**Hotel Giorgione**

**New Pacifica**

Alfred Bester was alone in the suite. However, it wouldn't be long before Colonel Drake returned from one of his investigative trips. He faced the vidscreen.

"Stellarcom."

The vidscreen lit up and showed the Stellarcom logo.

"Gold Channel link to Lincoln Powell, PsiCorps Headquarters, EarthDome. Code: Walters-656-King."

"_Working."_

Bester smiled as he thought about Powell, the chairman of the PsiCorps. He was known for lying to anybody for his own amusement, while claiming it was to constantly test the teeps' ability to find the truth. He once said that this test was also designed to show that the mundane way of communication was unreliable and that only the mind is truly dependable. Of course, behind the chairman's back, people called him Dishonest Abe. Surely, the powerful chairman knew this and probably could see this in others' mind, but so far had taken no action about it. He also believed himself to be the telepathic version of his ancestor, Colin at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Bester hoped to one day be like Lincoln. All that power at the command of his thoughts!

"_Link established."_

The vidscreen blinked to show a man sitting in an office.

"_Alfred Bester."_

"Mr. Powell."

"_How's the mission?"_

Bester hesitated before answering. "I was unable to scan the Vulcans. Apparently, they're all telepaths."

The chairman leaned forward with a look of incredulity on his face. _"Telepaths? You sure?"_

"Yes. All were able to block my scans." Bester inwardly bristled at the emotional punishment he got from Kov. "We had hoped that because they're undesirable civilians they wouldn't be able to stop me or use the Vulcan High Command to stop us."

"_They're telepaths and the Vulcan government hasn't brought them under control."_ Powell leaned back into his chair. _"This has…disturbing implications about the Vulcan people. Does Drake know?"_

"No. He still doesn't know that I'm a PsiCop. The Vulcans knew."

"_They…knew?"_ Bester recognized the dangerous tone in the chairman's quiet voice.

"I didn't tell them. They found out just by feeling my scans." He frowned. "I don't know how, but they did."

Powell studied Bester for a while before nodding. _"Okay. What's the situation out there?"_

"The mundanes are panicking. I assume you heard about Canton?"

The chairman nodded.

"Well, it would seem that New London will fall soon. Can you send a ship to get me?"

"_Telepaths are not expendable."_

"And mundanes are," added Bester, familiar with this routine with Powell shifting back into his habits as a PsiCorps teacher.

"_Very good. The Mothership will send a shuttle soon."_

The image blinked back to that of the Stellarcom logo. Bester was interested in the fact that the chairman didn't say anything about Colonel Drake. This should be interesting….

**Council Chamber**

Solace looked up as her fellow regent entered the dome-like chamber. Adair looked as if the weight of government was finally catching up to her. She sat heavily in a chair.

Solace waited for her to speak. Everything had its own time and place.

Finally, Adair spoke. "EarthDome can't spare the ships we need for defense." The other regent nodded as if it was expected. "Dakota Colony will send a few transports and freighters to help with the evacuation. That's all. No armed vessels."

"They want to keep their own defenses. After us, Dakota is sure to be next." Solace saw that Adair wasn't quite disturbed by this piece of news. "There's more?"

"Dakota said that they've deactivated the jump beacon to Canton. They will maintain the beacon to New London until the last possible moment. Once the Minbari attack and the last transport jump into the Dakota System, they will deactivate the beacon."

Now Solace knew what stressed Adair. This meant New London would be isolated—cut off from the rest of the Earth Alliance. The only other beacons available would be to Canton and Quadrant 15—Minbari held systems. No help would come. The only possible help would be from the Coalition forces which didn't depend on hyperspace for FTL travel and from the Centauri. Solace knew that the Coalition had problems of their own—a war to fight with an alien race called Romulans and recovery from the disaster at Signet. As for the Centauri, all requests and pleas for military intervention from them had been refused. Even if they sent ships to help New London, they'd have to go through Quadrant 15 and its Minbari occupants, something that even the great Centauri Royal Navy wouldn't dare risk even though Quadrant 15 was once a Centauri possession. EarthForce could help only if they reactivated the jump beacons or switched to warp technology.

But she could see the logic of this isolation: shutting off jump beacons and jumpgates would slow the Minbari advance into Earth space. This strategy forces the Minbari to carefully probe hyperspace, to chart the stars once more and make short jumps to avoid getting lost in the maelstrom. It has been done at the main front before Signet.

"So what do we do?"

Before Adair could answer, a holographic screen appeared over the middle of the round table. It was Eve, the planetary computer artificial intelligence.

"_I have results from the Interweb search on Colonel John Drake and Alfred Bester."_

Adair had forgotten about that. She was relieved and grateful for this piece of good news. "Thank you, Eve. What are they?"

"_Colonel Drake was involved in the police actions against Israel, Cyrus 3, New Jerusalem, Mars and the African Bloc in the years after the Dilgar War. A veteran of the Canal Wars, he is now an official member of EarthForce Internal Affairs—"_

"That much we know," muttered Solace.

"Quiet."

"_He was once considered for the governorship of New London. EarthDome thought that installing a military officer in that post would make the transition to martial law less difficult in the war against the Minbari."_

Adair was surprised. So this must be one of the motivations for Drake's hostility toward New London.

"_However, the autonomy of the colony is well known in EarthDome and it was feared that a military governor would spark sedition so the plan was abandoned."_

"Seems the plan's back in action," pointed out Solace.

"And Alfred Bester, Eve?"

"_Alfred Bester is a senior PsiCorps agent rated P-12. With no known parents, he was raised as a member of PsiCorps in Cadre Prime. Due to his rating and training, he was able to join the metasensory police colloquially known as PsiCops—"_

"A PsiCop!" exclaimed Solace. "Why weren't we notified?"

"_I have not been able to retrieve any further information on Mr. Bester. His record is classified and can only be opened with authorization from Chairman Lincoln Powell of PsiCorps, the Senate Metasensory Oversight Committee, and the comptroller of the PsiCorps Syria Planum facility on Mars. He is now authorized to depart New London."_

"That's all we need to know, Eve. Thank you."

The holographic screen vanished.

Adair turned to Solace who was looking angry. She understood the anger. EarthDome had been trying to get the colony under its direct control right from the beginning, even before First Contact. Duping New Londoners had been part of their attempts. But duping them in this fashion in the middle of a war with a superior alien force on the way was going too far.

"Eleanor…. What do we do?"

With stately grace, Adair stood up. "We tunnel."

Solace pressed her lips grimly. She stood with Adair.

"We tunnel," said Adair once more. "The aboveground no longer interests us. The Earthers are other." She gazed at Solace—sadly, it seemed. "They are, all of those not born on New London, other."

As one, the two women squatted down to the floor, pressing hands onto the hard ground. They bowed their heads and initiated communications with the Terrians via dreamplane.

We tunnel. With this solution, New London has severed all relations with the Earth Alliance. Not with the bang of armed revolt, but with the whimper of simple withdrawal.

**Governor's Island**

Pemberton was puzzled at the reports. It would seem that colonists were disappearing into the countryside, even underground. The logical thing to do would be joining the lines meandering into the spaceports for the transports going to Dakota and beyond. Why?

A vidscreen beeped for attention. _"Incoming communications from Vulcan vessel Vahklas."_

"Accept."

Captain Tavin came onscreen. _"Governor Pemberton, we have completed the connections of your defenses to our computer system."_

The governor wasn't sure how far he was prepared to trust the pointy-eared alien. Still, when backed into a corner, you go to any help possible. "Thank you, Captain. Seeing how your ship is now the colony's command and control center, I'll be there."

"_Very well. However, this is not the only reason I've contacted you. Our sensors are detecting subspace anomalies consistent with the formation of jumppoints in orbit. Unscheduled jumppoints, as far as I know."_

Pemberton's eyes bulged. The Minbari!

**In orbit of New London**

The circular space station wheeled in its orbit, creating centrifugal gravity. Transports and freighters moved sedately down to the planet and from it, while faster shuttles moved. Hyperion cruisers and Olympus corvettes were at their patrols and guard while starfuries assisted in the patrols. The planet's two moons shone serenely.

Beyond the second moon, a jumppoint opened and forty Minbari Nial-class fighters spilled out. The jumppoint collapsed behind them. Human defenses reacted quickly to the intruders as capitol ships lumbered around to face them while starfuries fired their thrusters to meet them.

The Nials swerved around, over and under the mines littered around the planet. One of them moved a little too close to a mine, setting off its proximity sensors. The mine exploded, erasing that fighter from existence and pushing two others off course.

Green neutron beams appeared as the fighters decided to eliminate the mines before meeting the Earthers. Another mine blew. Two more died under neutron fire.

Then the first starfuries came within range and lasers and plasma bolts made their appearance. Most of them missed their marks as the Minbari stealth was at its full strength.

Neutron beams quickly alternated between the three emitters on each Nial, sweeping across the minefield to strike at mines and starfuries.

One of the hyperions whose scanners were tied to the Vahklas' sensors opened fire with a plasma pulse cannon. Bright sun-colored bolts raked across the cosmos, eliminating many of the enemy fighters. The starfuries took the hyperion's cue by trusting the Vulcan sensor information. Even as the starfuries' pulse bolters touched the Nials, more mines exploded, assisting in the elimination of the intruders.

With the starfuries, the capitol ships and the mines combined, the single Minbari fighter squadron was soon whittled down to nothing. As the last polycrystalline fighter died, New London took a breath of relief.

But all knew that it was only a temporary relief.

**Minbari warcruiser Trigati**

**Hyperspace**

Sinoval had watched the skirmish in the holodisplay. The squadron was sent on its suicidal mission to gauge the colony's defenses. From the recording relayed from the squadron, the warleader realized that the Earther defenses had been augmented by an advanced alien ally. Vulcan, most likely.

Perhaps a direct attack this close to the planet would be hasty. His plan was to split his forces into two fleets—one for New London and the other for Dakota to prevent that colony from assisting the first.

He promptly decided to change the plan: recombine the forces for New London and jump in at a farther point in the star system. Surely, the Vulcan scanning technology wouldn't be able to reach so far.

**Vahklas**

The Vulcans, Adair and Pemberton had been watching the skirmish on the main viewer as well.

"The main fleet wouldn't be far behind."

Tavin said, "Agreed, Governor Pemberton."

Adair turned to the Vulcan captain and focused on him, conscious of Kov's stolen glances at her. "It's time, Captain."

An eyebrow arched at her. "Indeed. Mazzin and Tolaris?"

The two named Vulcans then focused on their consoles.

The 110 meters long Vulcan ship lifted off of the tarmac and took in its three legs. The Vahklas rose into the atmosphere and away from New Pacifica. Turning south, it quickly came upon the coastal mountain range. Upon finding a clearing in the mountains, the small ship settled down once more.

"Now what?" Pemberton couldn't see why they had to do this.

Suddenly, the ship lurched and the deck seemed to fall away from the occupants. The rocking and sinking motion continued and they could see the result on the main viewer: soil appeared to climb up the screen, covering it. The crew and the governor quickly realized that the ship was sinking into the solid earth itself.

"What's the meaning of this!"

Adair was amused at the governor's ignorance and panic. "We have been assured that the Vahklas will be kept safe."

Kov was fascinated at the new sensor readings. "I'm detecting a large number of life forms on the hull."

"Terrians," supplied Adair with a smile.

"Diggers?" Pemberton didn't seem to like the idea of these native aliens taking the Vulcan ship underground.

"Yes. Diggers. We tunnel, Governor."

Soon, the motion ceased. Mazzin said, "We are now 8,000 kilometers below the surface of the mountain. But sensors are still functioning."

"Buried alive! My God, woman, you've condemned us to being buried alive!"

Mazzin looked up at the governor dryly. "I'm detecting a network of caves. We are in one of the caverns so we can freely exit the ship."

Adair nodded. "All over the planet, those who've chosen to trust Terrians are tunneling for the Minbari assault. Those who do not trust the planet have rightly chosen to flee in the transports."

A beep sounded from Mazzin's console. "Jumppoints forming in the asteroid belt at the 8th orbit from the primary star."

The rotund governor breathed deeply, forgetting about the situation they were in now. He had a colony to defend and hold. "Can you link me to the garrison fleet?"

In reply, Tolaris activated the main viewer which now showed an Earther general harnessed into a chair on a ship's bridge.

"_Governor Pemberton?"_

"General Gregg, I want you to send six ships to the Grendel Belt."

"_What about Colonel Drake?"_

Pemberton ground his teeth at the name. The fool may have cost the Earth Alliance a colony. "I'm still governor, General. This means I'm commander-in-chief of all colonial armed forces at New London."

The general nodded curtly. The communication link was cut.

Adair, however, didn't agree with the governor's decision. "Pemberton, that's taking some of our defenses away! The planet needs all the protection it could have!"

"My responsibility, Miss Adair, is to the people. We need to slow the Minbari long enough for the transports to take them to Dakota. If you don't agree, take it up with either the Colonel or EarthDome."

The regent shot daggers from her eyes at the governor. She knew she wouldn't find support in those two avenues. Tavin could help but she wasn't about to risk testing the Vulcan's willingness to help New London.

We tunnel, indeed.

**Xi Bootis Grendel Asteroid Belt**

**EAS Golden Hinde**

Captain Dudley tensely watched the screen on the Golden Hinde's bridge. Asteroids moved sedately in their erratic orbits, occasionally crashing into each other. Most were rocks and ice. Not a safe place for a fleet to jump out of hyperspace.

Yet, aliens from another universe told them that they detected jumppoints in the middle of the Grendel Belt. Had Dudley ordered his ship to turn around, he would be able to see the blue dot that was New London, ninth planet from the primary sun.

Maybe he would be able to see whatever came out of those jumppoints from above the belt? If it was the Minbari, he might see shipwrecks. Had to be shipwrecks. No vessel could hope to outmaneuver the asteroid belt.

"Fleet command to all ships, let's go above the belt. I want starfuries to keep screening ahead of us."

The two Hyperions and four Olympi lumbered upward of the stellar system's plane and over the edge of the asteroid belt. Cautiously, they skirted the asteroids.

"Energy spike!" shouted the scanner officer.

"Holy—! This is fleet command, all ships, break off. I repeat, break—"

A deadly volley of missiles and neutron beams ripped into their ranks from amid the asteroids.

Two of the Earth destroyers were demolished immediately. The Golden Hinde's captain looked away as the vessels became nothing more than two massive fireballs, quickly snuffed out in the vacuum of space. An Olympus was severely damaged by the impact of a missile. Then a massive Minbari warcruiser roared out from among the asteroids, leading other warcruisers. Fire from this lead ship struck the Golden Hinde amidships, blasting out a chunk of the vessel, rocking it once more. Bulkheads caved inward, barely holding together. Many of the launch bays were destroyed. Starfury fighters scrambled to respond to the ambush. Still, one by one, the vessels exploded.

It was all the emergency crews and measures could do to prevent the damage from the strike from encompassing the whole of the flagship. Systems went down all over it and mere seconds after the ambush had begun, the Golden Hinde—the fleet leader—was hanging dead in space while other ships erupted in mushrooms of flame all around it. Dudley could only watch helplessly.

It all happened so quickly that the fleet captain was surprised to find that space was quiet and peaceful once more. The difference here was an entire fleet of Minbari Sharlin-class warcruisers emerging out of the asteroid belt, many of which maneuvered expertly around the tumbling asteroids. Then yellow jumppoints bloomed open and the Minbari fleet departed, leaving the Golden Hinde helpless.

Warleader Sinoval had achieved his aim of dividing the defense forces of New London for the conquest of the colony.

**New London**

Unlike the now common yellow of the vortices, the local jumpgate opened a blue vortex and a shuttle came out. It was painted black with a huge white omega symbol painted on it.

**New Pacifica Spaceport**

Bester watched the sky as the ships lifted off. One of them was landing. The PsiCorps shuttle. He had noticed that the Vulcan ship was no longer in the spaceport. His sources told him that the Vahklas hadn't departed the system, so it must still be somewhere on the planet. His sources also told him that his true status as a PsiCop has been discovered. Perhaps it was the right time for him to leave.

"Bester!"

The PsiCop saw it was Colonel Drake. The Internal Affairs colonel didn't look happy.

"Wonderful day, isn't it, Colonel?"

"Save it," snapped Drake. "What the hell you think you're doing? We still have an investigation to do!"

Bester made a small gasp. "Oh that! I knew I forgot something!" He flashed a smile. "Guilty or not, we can be assured that New London will no longer trouble Earth."

At this moment, the PsiCorps shuttle had landed on the tarmac.

"No thanks to the damned Boneys!" Drake jabbed a finger at Bester. "You still have a job to do. The governor's disappeared. The Council's snuck off. If that's not a sign of guilt, then I don't know what it is!"

Bester narrowed his eyes at Drake as he rubbed his right temple. The appearance of a headache was a ruse, of course. "Picking trash out of garbage cans to prove who's loyal or not is not to my liking, Colonel."

"Bull! I know who you are, Mr. Bester! I led men into battle! In Israel, on New Jerusalem, Cyrus 3 and a hundred more! Where were you? Peeking into people's minds! Violating our privacy! You claim to love the Earth Alliance, but look at you! Sneaking off of New London back to Earth! Hypocrite!"

Bester laughed. Mundanes were so good at hiding from their own truths. "It's you who's the hypocrite, Colonel! I can feel it in you. Deep and sick…filthy!"

"You're in my mind, you little…." Drake backhanded Bester, causing him to tumble backward down to the tarmac. "You're under arrest! It will be _our_ turn to pick your mind!"

Anger flashed in Bester's eyes. "Colonel! Pain!" The PsiCop projected into Drake's mind and the mundane doubled over in pain. Then the telepath initiated a sudden and vicious deep scan. Not that he wanted to know more about Drake. The colonel's face twisted in a rictus of agonized grimace as he held his own head and crumbled to the tarmac, unconscious.

Bester stepped up to the unconscious form of John Drake and smiled down to him. At last, he was able to punish the mundane for lording it over the PsiCop who was really the natural superior.

**Hyperspace**

The black-painted shuttle was already on its way to the secret PsiCorps mothership. Bester looked around in his seat to see Drake still slumped and harnessed in the seat behind him. Satisfied, the PsiCop pressed a button in his seat arm.

"What's the ETA with the mothership?"

"_Six hours and twenty minutes."_

"A long haul," muttered Bester to himself. He looked back at Drake once more. The mothership was supposed to be kept secret from all mundanes, even from the lower echelons of PsiCorps. Too bad he wasn't able to capture a Vulcan for study.

Bester unbuckled his safety harness.

Outside the shuttle, John Drake was now floating unprotected in hyperspace.

In the shuttle, Bester was back in his seat. He smiled. In spite of all the oppressive rules imposed by EarthGov, no mundane could hope to defy PsiCorps and get away with it. Even the wellbeing of New London paled against the integrity of PsiCorps. He could simply say that the colonel was missing in action when the Minbari attacked. All's well that ends well.

**New London**

The sky itself seemed filled with transports. Thousands of men and women had chosen to flee the imagined safety of their fortified colony. Arrayed about the planet, row upon row of defense satellites pointed their guns spaceward. Swarms of starfuries patrolled the area, their pilots nervously surveying the stars. Nearby, a fleet of warships guarded the jumpgate as transport after transport made good their escape.

Suddenly….

Dozens of blue swirling portals appeared all about them. Every man and woman in the defense fleet gulped away their fears and made peace with their god.

The Minbari have come….


	18. Terrina Fights

_elbowface: Your questions will be answered as the story progressed--in this chapter and the next._

_Worker72: The Minbari are finding out about New London right here in this chapter. As for the Vulcans, you'll read and find out.:)_

_Artemis1000: I needed to flesh out an Earth colony in the story. Earth 2 seemed an excellent opportunity. The backstory of Earth 2 as I envisioned for this story: The Eden Advance team and the following colonists goes to Earth 2 in STL (slower than light) ships at a time before the First Contact with the Centauri. Then the Centauri came and the Earth Alliance worked to bring the new colony under its firm control. The episode "The Boy Who Would be Terrian King" showed a future Uly helping Terrians resist the human militant drive to colonize the planet (like the Indian Wars in America). Here in this universe, that was the Earth Alliance forcing the Terrians to cede the planet. Artistic license, if you will. :)_

_grayangle: Yes, it would raise a few questions. They will come up later._

_Everyone else, thanks for the reviews!_

**Dakota Colony**

**Earth Alliance**

The local jumpgate opened and an Earther freighter came out, bearing refugees. Immediately, it sent messages to the colony. One such message needed to be immediately relayed to EarthDome—it bore news for the Earth Alliance as a whole:

"_Enemy at New London. Repeat: enemy at New London."_

**New London**

The Minbari invasion force approached the first few orbital weapon platforms that formed the outer rim of the defense grid surrounding New London. The fleet was an impressive collection of Sharlins and Tinashis, with escorts of Nial fighters and led by a single Shargotti warcruiser.

Aboard the Shargotti, called the Trigati, Sinoval and his two aides stood in the tactical center watching the vista in the surrounding holodisplay.

The bearded Minbari, Alyt Kalain, said, "Our stealth is at maximum. They wouldn't be able to lock onto us."

Rii Deeron pointed at an area of the holodisplay, causing the artificial intelligence to magnify at her mental command. "We shall see soon, Alyt. These are Earther vessels approaching. Remember how accurate their fighters were."

Kalain scoffed at the magnified image of eight Olympus-class gunboats and four Hyperion-class cruisers, screened by starfuries. "They have to know they don't stand a chance against a fleet like this."

"That won't matter," commented Shai Alyt Sinoval quietly. He then spoke up loudly. "Tinashi fighter wing, engage the Earthers."

Immediately, swarms of Nial fighters broke formation to intercept the oncoming Earther warships. Three of the Tinashis lumbered around to follow the fighters.

Immediately, neutron beams shot forth from the Nials while thicker neutron beams came from the Tinashis. Several starfuries vanished in explosions and a Hyperion crumpled under Tinashi fire before following with its own fiery death. Plasma bolts and laser beams made their appearances, causing a few of the Nials to tumble out of control. Two died in fire.

"It would seem that the Earthers are still getting Vulcan help," said Sinoval dryly.

Then one of the Hyperions increased speed, firing all guns, and rammed into one of the Tinashis, destroying it and itself. An Olympus smashed into a drive fin of another Tinashi, causing it to go off course. Scores of starfuries rammed into the third Tinashi, breaking off its tip before an Olympus speared itself into its heart. Liquid flames coated the heavily damaged and disabled Tinashi.

Deeron made a noise of disgust. "I always knew that the humans are crazy."

"But their madness is delaying us," pointed out Sinoval. "It still won't matter. Commence firing on the ships and the weapon platforms."

The power of the Sharlins came into play. Soon, short work was made of the Earther defense fleet in spite of hits scored by the humans upon the Minbari. Several of the still-silent defense platforms were destroyed.

Guns firing, the invasion force moved deeper into the defense grid, heading for their goal: the Earth-like planet of New London. One of the planet's two moons created a backdrop for part of the defense grid, presenting a bleak and blank face to the invaders. Sinoval's flagship, the Trigati, casually fired at a weapon platform once on its way into the grid, causing it to tumble before being destroyed by a cooperative Tinashi.

Suddenly, and all at once, the defense grid sprang to life and let loose a massive barrage of firepower against the Minbari fleet. Two missiles struck the Trigati's left drive fin and then two of the weapon platforms cooperated in firing laser beams at the Shargotti-class warcruiser. Though damaged, the Trigati continued on its way to New London.

A Sharlin fired its main neutron cannon at a platform, destroying it. However, another platform threw a stream of plasma bolts in retaliation. The damaged Sharlin lashed back with a subsidiary neutron cannon, moving past beyond the exploding platform. The Minbari fighters kept on a gatling effect of neutron beams against the defense grid.

Meanwhile, a Tinashi, small explosions blossoming on her long hull, fired at a defense satellite only to fall victim to a continuous laser beam from another satellite. The beam succeeded in drilling through its main drive fin, causing it to list out of control.

Struggling to stand as the Trigati shook under enemy fire, Deeron looked very angry. "Our stealth is not working at all!"

Kalain barked a laugh. "You said Canton was too easy! Isn't this what you want, Rii?"

Deeron's eyes shot daggers at the bearded alyt.

Even as Sinoval watched another Tinashi tumble out of control under enemy fire and trailing flash-frozen gases and bodies, he calmly ordered, "Fire at will. We have the power and number to defeat this."

Kalain retorted, "We're getting heavy casualties!"

"Do you think we should…retreat?"

The Alyt widened his eyes. Though there was no edge in Sinoval's voice, he knew that the answer carried great weight on his career as alyt to one of the greatest shai alyts in the Minbari war machine. Glancing up at a Tinashi crumpling and falling apart under multiple and continuous laser and plasma fire, he said in a small voice, "No. This is holy war. The great Dukhat would want us to be strong in the face of adversity."

"Precisely."

The battle continued. The invasion force continued to lose more and more ships and fighters in the barrage coming from New London's weapons platforms.

The shai alyt pondered aloud, "The Vulcans are coordinating the human scanning systems to defeat our stealth. When we first encountered the humans, our scanners were able to knock out most of their systems." Turning to speaking at the ship and the fleet, he said, "Put our scanners at maximum. Put as much power as you can into the scanners."

"But, Shai Alyt," protested Kalain. "That'll mean less power for weapons."

"Do it."

"Yes, Shai Alyt."

Soon, throughout the defense grid, scanners began to fail or to receive spotty telemetries. This was quickly apparent in how erratic the weapons fire became. Several of the defense platforms even fell silent as scanner systems failed.

Now, finally, the Minbari had the leisure to eliminate the defense grid of New London on their way to the planet itself. The Nials gleefully fell upon the defense platforms.

"Ready the troop transports," ordered Sinoval.

xXx

It would be an understatement to say that Governor Pemberton was angry. "This is a disaster!"

The governor had been watching the battle on the Vahklas' main viewer with the Vulcan crew and Regent Adair.

"The Minbari will land soon!" Pemberton whirled to jab a finger at Captain Tavin. "This is your fault!"

"On the contrary, Mr. Pemberton, we've assisted in eliminating much of the Minbari invasion force. We could not control the effect of Minbari scanners on the defense grid systems."

"And now," put in Adair, attempting to steer the situation away from an argument, "we wait for the Minbari to land."

**Earth Central**

**Earth Alliance**

In an auditorium at the military center of EarthDome, commanders from Starfleet, EarthForce, the Andorian Imperial Guard and the Vulcan High Fleet were assembled. Captain Jonathan Archer was among them. In front of the milling audience was a low table and a large wall display screen. Archer recognized most of the Starfleet officers and a few of the Andorians and Vulcans such as Captain Shran of the Tamar and Fleet Commander Sorik of the Shirasna. He noticed an officer with the rank insignia of a commodore. Archer was surprised to not recognize the Starfleet commodore. He appeared to be from either the Middle East or India, had jet black curly hair and a thin close-trimmed beard. The commodore could be considered darkly attractive.

Soon, Fleet Admiral George B. Gardner entered the room. Conferring with him were Generals Lefcourt and Fontaine. But the briefing hasn't begun yet so there was still time for the crowd to make small talk. Captain Shran moved through the crowd to Jonathan Archer.

"Hello, pinkskin," said Shran affectionately. Then his antennae weaved in a manner denoting anger. "Why are the Vulcans here? They left us at Signet."

Captain Archer sighed. It would seem that the antagonism between Andorians and Vulcans couldn't be relieved. "We need them."

"Need them? Their ships avoid the Minbari as much as possible and they're not helping us against the Romulans at all!"

"They've been helpful," Archer countered. "They've provided logistical and intelligence support. They've helped us inflict heavy casualties on the Minbari at Signet."

"Everyone knows that the Minbari are at war with the Vulcans. Except, it would seem, the Vulcans themselves. Someone needs to tell them about that."

Admiral Gardner signaled for attention before Archer could respond and the room fell silent as people went to their seats.

"The Earth colonies of Canton and Jericho have fallen. New London and Leonis are now under attack."

A dismayed murmur greeted this piece of news.

Gardner turned to the wall display and activated it. It showed a map of the sectors between Earth and Minbar. Red stars blinked at markers labeled Jericho, Leonis, Canton and New London. It was clear to all that Jericho laid at the lower corner of Earth Alliance space while Canton and New London lay at the opposite corner. Leonis lay at the middle of the frontier line beside Minbari-occupied Kandhi. "Yes, Canton and New London. This means the Minbari have opened a second front in Earth Alliance territory. As you know, the battle at Signet set us back severely. Starfleet is doing its best to support the defenses against the Minbari."

Shran stood up and announced, "The Andorian Imperial Guard will continue its full support of the Earth Alliance." With that, he shot a pointed look at Commander Sorik who impassively looked back as if he didn't get the point. Scattered cheers and jeers came from the EarthForce officers—cheers for Shran and jeers for Sorik.

"Thank you, Captain," said Gardner, looking a little annoyed at the jingoistic interruption. "For now, all we can do is to bring Earther defenses as up to par as possible."

Mutters of disappointment greeted this.

"Starfleet engineers have been sent to as many of the colonies facing the Minbari fronts as possible. Soon, the colonies and EarthForce will be able to target and eliminate the Minbari threat."

Scattered cheers came from within the crowd.

Gardner looked pleased to get this kind of response. He surrendered his podium. "General Lefcourt, please."

Lefcourt stepped forward and pointed to the starmap. Red arrows appeared to move from Signet to Jericho, from Canton to New London and from Kandhi to Leonis. "You can see here the Minbari thrusts along the j-lanes. After they're done with Jericho, they'll come to the Cooke System. After New London, Dakota Colony. After Leonis, the Ross System." As he spoke, new red arrows appeared to depict what he was saying. "As you can see, they're clearly trying to strike straight at the Sol System. We must modernize these systems' defenses and stiffen our resolve against the Minbari. Remember, though, if any more colony falls, we'd have to deactivate the jumpgate link to the colony's star system."

There was a concerned murmur. Dakota had done that to New London. The Cooke System was also cut off from both Jericho and Signet. Anyone with a jumpengine still in the system would be stranded and left to the mercies of the Minbari. That was something no one wanted.

"The integration of warp technology into EarthForce is continuing at Jupiter Station in the Terran System. Once the ships start rolling off the yards, we won't have to worry about being stranded. Furthermore, Starfleet and the Vulcan Science Directorate are working together in developing a new way to open jumppoints without the need for Quantium-40."

There was a murmur of excited anticipation. Archer saw the unknown Starfleet commodore stand up. "Admiral and Generals."

Gardner frowned. "Commodore Tiberius Chase."

Archer raised his eyebrows. So the man was Tiberius Chase, one of the youngest to reach the rank of commodore. Before the war, he was in the United Earth Cargo Service so that he was a spacer, like the Enterprise's helmsman Travis Mayweather.

"I respectfully propose that we make plans for a counterstrike against the Minbari."

Captain Archer looked at the commodore with surprise. Gardner scowled. He didn't seem to like his thunder stolen. "Commodore, you are aware of our losses at Signet."

"I know, sir. We can hit them where it's unexpected." Chase gestured at the listening crowd. "We have the resources. We can simply go around the fronts and hit them from behind. Isn't that what you proposed to do to the Romulans, Admiral?"

Gardner was still scowling. "Yes," he said through gritted teeth.

"We could do that. Hit say…Vega or Delphi."

"How do you propose we…go there?"

Tiberius Chase shrugged as if it was self-evident. "We have warp technology. For EarthForce, we could try to use other jump routes. Okay, Vega would be easier than Delphi. We could go through Centauri jumpgates." He squinted at the map still displayed on the screen. "There's a direct route from Batain to Vega. Gather a fleet at Epsilon Indi; go through the Narn systems of Dra'Shii and Quadrant 14, then through the Centauri systems of Quadrant 1, Beta 3, Coutor and Batain. Alternatively, we could go through League space: gather at Ross and go through Ch'lon, Coutan, Trivor and Denova. Or gather at Proxima and go through Zacalth, Ch'lon and so on. Long ways, I know, but it'd be a great surprise for the Minbari!"

There was excitement in the audience. Captain Shran stood up once more with a sly look at Gardner and Sorik and said, "The Imperial Guard will do that if it's accepted by the Coalition Supreme Command, of course. But first, we will need all the ships we could spare. Reconnaissance intelligence tells us that the Romulans are gathering a large fleet at Gamma Virginis." A look of worry came over Shran. "We don't know if they're going to attack Draken or Andoria, but we believe Andoria to be likelier. Of course, after we fight the Romulans there, we'll send the ships to Vega."

"Good luck," said Archer quietly to Shran who nodded his thanks.

Generals Fontaine and Lefcourt shared a meaningful look. Coming to a wordless agreement, Lefcourt said, "We'll send what ships we could spare to Andoria. Then we'll expect help at Vega."

Gardner clearly didn't like how the briefing was getting out of his control.

"And the Vulcans?" asked Shran, almost with a sneer.

Sorik seemed to impassively consider the proposal. "I shall inform the Vulcan Council of this proposal. That is all I can do. I doubt that the Council will commit the High Command to this strategy."

Shran's expression conveyed his meaning of 'oh of course.'

Gardner seemed to fume for a while. This meant taking more starships out of his control and away from the Romulan front. "Captain Archer."

The named captain looked up, surprised.

"I want your ship to stay in the Sol and Terran Systems."

Now Archer was amazed. Was Gardner being petty about Commodore Chase? The captain of the Enterprise had been about to throw his support for Shran. Now this…. All he could do was accept the fleet admiral's order. "Yes, sir."

"You're dismissed!" announced Gardner, ending the briefing quickly.

As the people stood up and began a hubbub of excited chatter, Shran met Archer once more. "I think you'll need the luck, pinkskin."

Archer nodded absent-mindedly, staring at Gardner and Chase. He was wondering about the dynamics of that particular relationship.

Shran continued. "Of course, we all need luck. I hate to admit it, but we'll need the Vulcans for Vega. If not only for their so-called military strength then for the diplomacy." His antennae seemed to wilt as Shran frowned. "But how can we get the Vulcans more involved?"

Jonathan Archer shrugged. "I heard that there's Vulcans on New London. Maybe that will do it."

"Well, I hope New London holds. I'd hate to see what the Minbari would be like with Vulcan technology."

**New London**

Adair was leading Captain Tavin, Kov and Pemberton through caverns. Flashlights lit their way.

"Where the hell are you taking us?" Pemberton grumbled. "The Minbari are coming. We have no time for some cave tourism!"

The New Londoner woman merely kept on walking through the corridors. Sometimes they had to duck their heads to avoid hitting the low ceiling. Soon, the group could see a soft red glow in the dark distance. Kov held up his tricorder toward it.

"Tavin, there is a large energy reading in that direction."

Then they came out into a large cave chamber. Pemberton and Kov gasped at the sight. Tavin limited his reaction to raising both eyebrows. Everywhere in the chamber, there were small boulders and rock veins that were glowing like many mini-sunrises. In the center of the chamber was what appeared to be a fresh-water lake.

Kov quietly said, "Tavin…. These stones are constantly storing and releasing energy."

"Sunstones," said Adair, naming the glowing rocks.

"Uh, this is all very interesting, but what does it have to do with us?"

"Watch."

Soon, what appeared to be mud-men emerged from the cave surfaces. Each was holding a staff tipped with some form of metal ornament.

Kov gasped with recognition.

"Terrians," whispered Adair.

Slowly, the Terrians gathered in a circle around the lake. As one, they dipped the metal tip of their staffs into the liquid. Suddenly, what appeared to be lightning discharges rippled outward from each of the staffs in the liquid. Then more lightning discharges arced from the sunstones into the lake.

"What are they doing?" asked Pemberton nervously.

"They appear to be channeling more energy into that lake," said Kov, reading off his tricorder readings.

Adair gave the group a small smile. "They're recharging the planet."

Tavin arched an eyebrow. It was, to him, an odd hypothesis. "For what purpose?"

"The planet has decided to help us fight the Minbari."

"You speak as if New London is sentient."

"It is." Adair appeared to be serious about her answer. "By the way, we've chosen not to keep that name. EarthDome gave it to the planet as a sign of its rule. We're now called Terrina. Terrina has chosen that name."

All Tavin could do about such an odd and alien statement from the human woman was arch his eyebrow again.

The sunstones began to dim as their electrical discharges intensified and a sound permeated the cave. It sounded like the beating of a human heart.

"What's that? What's going on?" Pemberton was getting alarmed.

Adair gave a small smile again as the cave became more dim. "It's Terrina. Terrina fights."

xXx

Out on the Pacifica Ocean, the sound of heartbeats could be heard and the ocean appeared to be moving in tandem with the heartbeats. Heavy steam and fog rose from the waves, creating roiling clouds. The clouds climbed, roiled and built thunderheads until they created hurricanes. Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed. This is repeated in the seas and the other three oceans and lakes. Where hurricanes could not be created, storms raged.

The capital city of New Pacifica was now in darkness as the grey-black clouds achieved nearly total coverage. Rain began to fall. Lightning cracked and wind howled.

Sinoval could see this happening from his flagship. He was stunned. Never in his experience had this happened to a habitable planet. "What's happening!"

"I don't know," responded Deeron. "Planetary cloud cover is increasing. The atmosphere is ionizing. There are electrical storms occurring all around it."

"The troops are on the way. Do we continue with ground combat?" asked Kalain carefully.

Sinoval looked down at the planet in the holodisplay. The quick flashes of lightning came through the cloud cover here and there. The planet's two moons stared silently back at him. "Yes."

xXx

On one of the Minbari troop transports, a Torotha-class assault ship, the warriors held on to the handholds tightly as the vessel bumped and tumbled in the strong winds. Rumbling thunder was occasionally heard. One of the warriors, Bhurli, wondered if the transport would survive the trip down to the planet's surface.

The troop commander was saying, "Kill all the humans in the area. Make sure that all resistance is destroyed. Do you understand?"

Bhurli and the others said, "Yes, sir!" Meanwhile, the transport was still shaking with friction against the atmosphere and kept pitching in the wind.

The transport's guidance computer was emotionlessly announcing, _"Surface contact in twenty-five seconds."_

Meanwhile, outside the transport, Nial fighters provided escort. On one of them, the fighter pilot, lying on his stomach, was struggling to keep his craft under control in the buffing winds. Lightning flashed. His round convex window had streaks of water and the pilot could only see the grey-black interior of the storm clouds. The pilot's fingers danced on the controls surrounding the window. He was startled when a lightning bolt struck a nearby dimly visible Nial, sending it tumbling down to the planet's surface.

At least, lightning do not strike accurately twice.

Just then, another blindingly bright bolt struck another Nial, sending it tumbling and crashing into yet another Nial.

That couldn't be a coincidence. The pilot had a sudden superstitious dread. He still had his duty in escorting the troop transport, though. Finally, they came out from under the clouds and rain pelted on the pilot's convex window. Beyond a range of hills, he could dimly see the spires of a city through the heavy rain. Trees moved with heavy winds, a few even snapping and breaking off.

The pilot lay down a suppression fire of neutron beams into the shrubbery, forests and farmlands. Resistance should be softened for the troops on the Torotha assault transport. He could see the slightly heavier beams shooting from the transport. At the outskirts of the city, he could see the barrels of the human ground batteries rising out from underground hiding places. He turned his fighter to face this new threat. Two neutron beams burned into the ground beside one of the batteries when a lightning bolt flashed blindingly close to him.

Blinded, he didn't see the battery barrel as his fighter crashed into it.

On the transport, Bhurli could hear the guidance computer intoning, _"Surface in fifteen seconds. Increasing gravitic field for cushioning."_

Through a tiny window, Bhurli could see the laser and plasma bolts of ground batteries shooting off into the sky. He could also see many other fighters and some of the other troop transports drifting down from the underside of the dark clouds.

Bursts of black smoke signaled the detonation of aerial charges launched by the human colonists to deter the incoming transports and fighters.

"_Surface in five…four…three…."_

The transport touched down jarringly. An entire side of the transport became a ramp dropping down onto the ground. The troop commander, leading the warriors down it, shouted, "Up there on the hills! We'll destroy the human positions from the AAAAAHH!"

One of the darts harvested from Kobas had shot into the commander's leg. He fell screaming into a near-death coma. Aerial charges continued to explode in the sky. Humans came from their cover in the forest and crops and opened fire with PPGs and non-energy guns. Concussions shook the ground.

"Kill them!" shouted a female warrior, her body armor slick with rain.

She and Bhurli opened fire, backing away. Pulse rounds tore into several of the humans, guts gushing.

"Where's the under-commander!" shouted Bhurli over the din.

"I don't see him!"

More humans came charging out of the forest with a few Grendlers among them. Thunder rolled, causing the ground to rumble.

"Here they come…!" shouted another female warrior.

Bhurli and the others opened fire simultaneously. The whole area went white in the flashes of so many neutron, plasma and lightning bolts. A warrior, firing wildly into the oncoming humans and Grendlers, didn't see one of the Grendler run through him, bowling him over. The warrior screamed as another Grendler stabbed him with a long knife.

The warrior, screaming, fought. The Grendler yanked his dagger out of the Minbari and reached for his face, tearing into warrior's eyes.

Bhurli was sickened by the sight. More darts flew into the crowd of warriors and the female beside him screamed as her legs collapsed. Several darts had found their marks in her. She now appeared dead.

Enraged, the warriors charged at the humans and the monstrous aliens. Under intense Minbari fire, the colonists melted back into the forest. Bhurli wanted to follow them, to kill them all. Rain water streamed down his face, washing some of the blood off it.

Then on a hill behind the warriors, Terrians emerged out of the ground. They were carrying staffs tipped with metal ornaments. Electrical discharges shot out of the metal tips, striking warriors here and there before the Minbari could turn around at the new threat.

Above, the milling Nials couldn't fire for fear of killing their own fellow warriors, so they moved further off, firing neutron beams into areas beyond the warriors.

Bhurli could see more warriors pouring out of another transport that had just landed. They were making straight for the Terrians who had quickly sunk back into the ground. Bhurli had never seen or heard of such stealthy aliens. The closest he could think of were the rumors of the shapeshifting Shedraks from Tyrol III.

Behind this particular group of warriors, a single Terrian rose out of the ground, set a device on the ground and pressed in a few commands and vanished back into the earth. The device made a few soft beeps, causing Bhurli to think it was a bomb. As he was about to shout a warning, a bright light flashed from the device. As the light faded, Bhurli could see a line of blue-white light creating a circle around the device. The circle spread outward from it, turning plants into frozen gray forms.

Then the line of light passed a warrior and the warrior froze in his pained pose, turning gray. Bhurli was horrified. The creatures of this planet had petrifying technology! More warriors fell painfully under the geo-lock's influence.

"Fall back! Fall back!" shouted Bhurli. As one, the warriors ran away from the oncoming geo-lock effect.

One of the humans had apparently gotten hold of a flame-thrower. Tongues of liquid fire licked across the land. Warriors who have been touched screamed, stumbled and wind-milled their arms as they burned. A few who had the foresight jumped into an overflowing creek.

Their Torotha transport lifted off before the geo-lock effect could touch. The other transport wasn't so lucky: it turned an ashen gray. The surviving transport flew on and landed once more in front of the running warriors.

One of Bhurli's friends shook as human bullets plowed into his body.

"Esark!"

Bhurli stared in horror as his friend's head rolled off the bullet-ruined neck. Enraged, he opened up with his pulse rifle at the offending human. He screamed as bullets tore right through his thigh, but Bhurli was rewarded with the human's death.

Bhurli looked down at the terrible hole in his leg. Bright arterial blood was gushing out of it. He screamed, "Medtech! MEDTECH!" Smoke from gunfire and fires rolled across the field. Thankfully, the geo-lock effect had spent itself out before reaching him. He fired his pulse rifle empty into the rain-drenched forest. Trees were still bending and waving in the wind. A lightning bolt lit the whole area from the sky.

Bhurli dropped his empty rifle and crawled desperately, dragging his useless leg. Through the storm darkness and the smoke, he could see warriors running into the waiting transport. Clearly, a general retreat had sounded.

Fighters and more Torotha-class assault transports came into view, firing into the human-infested areas, coming to the rescue of the Minbari warriors. A lightning bolt struck one of the transports, sending it tumbling into the ground. A massive fireball signaled its impact with the ground. The human ground batteries were still firing bright energy bolts into the storm-darkened skies.

"Oh, Valen…," cried Bhurli, tears of defeat and pain mixing with the rain falling on his face. "Oh, Valen, help me…please help me!"

xXx

All over the planet, such scenes were repeated. Victories were sometimes won, but losses outweighed the victories.

All this was reported to Sinoval. Kalain raged and Deeron snarled at the reports. Sinoval, however, stood silently in his pillar of light in the tactical center of the Trigati. To all appearances, he was calm, but cold anger burned in his eyes. The humans were cheating! First, it was the Vulcans helping to defeat the Minbari stealth, now it was using strange unknown aliens to help in the hit-and-fade warfare raging across the planet. They were clearly using unknown alien technologies to turn the weather to their advantage. The more powerful ground batteries managed to score hits on a few warcruisers in low orbit over the planet.

They were cheating!

He wasn't about to let the humans use such dishonorable tactics to drive the Minbari away from the colony.

"All troops, evacuate. Evacuate."

Troop transports began to load warriors wherever and whenever they could. More fighters lay down suppression fire even as they were lashed by lightning bolts, electrical discharges and human weapons.

Kalain's voice had a dangerous edge to it. "Shall we call in reinforcements?"

Sinoval thought about that suggestion. It would be prudent to do that, but it would have been humiliating to send out a call for reinforcements, for ships and troops not part of his fleet. The Grey Council, after all, was watching for progress. The shai alyt twisted his mouth with disgust. He wasn't about to lose honor over a few primitive creatures.

"No. We lay siege."

Kalain and Deeron bowed at the new order.


	19. Course Changes

**Jupiter Station**

**United Earth Sol System**

**14 June**

In one of the drydocks near the space station, mooring lines snapped away in bursts of frozen vapor. The vessel within the dock, an Earth Alliance Olympus-class corvette, moved from its berth. Once it was clear, twin warp nacelles were visible on the sides of the blocky ship. The nacelles appeared stark against the gun-metal gray of the Olympus' armor with their near-white hull platings.

Aboard the Jupiter Station, applause greeted the ship's launch. Two of those applauding were Captain Jonathan Archer and Commander Paul Stiles.

"Looks kinda kitbash, doesn't it, Cap'n?"

"Yeah, they did a rush job on it. But it's just the first of the Olympus-X's."

Stiles gave a short chuckle. "'Olympus-X'. Sounds like a cheap porn film featuring the Greek gods."

Archer laughed. "Thanks. I needed that."

"We're thinking of changing the name," said an aging Starfleet captain who had come up to two officers.

"Captain Jefferies! I thought you're still throwing yourself into the building of the next class of starship!"

"Ah yes." Jefferies shrugged good-naturedly. "I love watching the first launch of a new class ship. This one has almost everything: gravity plating, an improved fusion reactor, improved ion engines, a fusion-powered warp drive with a maximum speed of Warp 4.6, short-range subspace sensors and ablative armor. She's heavily armed with four phase cannons, two long-range rail guns, two twin plasma cannons and four missile racks. As we refine the class, we'll add other features like long-range sensors and food resequencers. Maybe even a jumpengine if miniaturization research in that area comes through." The old man chuckled. "The Earth Alliance will fall all over us with their gratitude."

"Cap'n," interjected Stiles. "You said you're thinking of changing the name?"

"Yes. Delos-class."

Archer nodded appreciatively. "I like the reference. The Delian League, the ancient Greek alliance against the Persians. I hope our alliance will be more successful than the Delian League."

"Yeah. I'm sure that ships like the Delos will be a surprise for the Minbari," said Stiles, grinning mischievously.

Jefferies seemed surprised. "Didn't you know? The Delos and the first few ships of her class won't be used against the Minbari or the Romulans."

"What?" Archer was now confused. The war needed everything they had to throw against both enemies. Why were they holding the new ships back?

"You're both right," Jefferies said, referring to the earlier conversation between Archer and Stiles. "The Delos is a rush job. Later, we'll refine the class. Umm. I think these senators will explain it better." Jefferies waved over two Earth Alliance senators and introduced them to the Enterprise's captain and engineer. "Carlos Amador, the Alliance Senator for Argentina, and Pepin DeBussy, the Alliance Senator for France. Senators, they'd like to know about the Ark Project."

The Argentine senator spoke first. "As you know, the war isn't going too well for all of us."

Archer nodded grimly. He remembered Signet Run. Both the Alliance and the Coalition were still recovering from that.

"The Senate and people of Earth are anxious about the survival of _la humanité_," put in Pepin.

"Thanks to the Vulcans," continued Amador, "we now know all about the Alpha System. Even though it's four light-years from Earth and only 13,000 AU from Proxima 3, the star system has been inaccessible to us in hyperspace. Over the 300 years of our space travel, we've sent only probes and sleeper ships in normal space." He shook his head with wonder. "_Mierda._ It takes our fastest ship 3 years to go from Proxima to Alpha. With the new Olympus, the travel time is down to 40 hours."

The French senator made an expression of slight distaste. "We had to ask _les Vulcaines_ for help in this matter. Five civilian Asimov-class liners will be towed from Proxima 3 to the Alpha System where Ark colonies will be founded on Alpha 3 and 4, and the fourth planet of the Alpha B System. Transports have been hired."

Captain Jefferies put in, "And President Thorpe has agreed to donate three Conestoga-class colony ships to the project."

"_Oui_. The Ark Project will put about 100,000 people in the Alpha System."

"Sounds like a big project," commented Archer, impressed. Desperation often pushed humans to great heights. "Makes sense. The Minbari can't touch you at Alpha Centauri. But why take the new Olympus ships?"

"In the first few years, the colonies will be vulnerable. We'll need patrols and quick transport of personnel and material between the colonies. No jumpgate permitted. Not even a jump beacon. As more people go to Proxima for the project, the new ships will carry them on to Alpha. That's why it's important that we hold the Proxima System as long as we can." Amador's eyes blazed with pride. "If Earth falls, we'll remain close to the motherworld. And one day, we'll be able to strike back from Alpha and liberate it."

Archer frowned. "A bit early to assume that your Earth will fall, isn't it?"

"We must be prepared," was the simple answer from the Argentine senator.

"Whose idea is this?" Stiles was still a little incredulous. "Wouldn't it be better to just come over here and fortify the Rift? It's a bottleneck. We can hold it indefinitely."

Both senators looked sharply at the Enterprise's engineer. "Earth is our home. Your Earth may be the same, but it's not our home," said Pepin. "We will not be part of the United Earth Colonies. We must keep the Alliance alive."

"As for whose idea, it was ours," said Amador proudly. "Most of the funds and personnel will initially be supplied by the North American and East Asian governments."

Jefferies chuckled as a thought occurred to him. "I heard proposals for naming the Ark colonies. New Earth, Sihnon, Kent, and others like…." He chuckled again. "Amador and Pepinia."

"_S'il vous plaît_, let's not embarrass us," said Pepin, but it was apparent that he would like to have a planet named after him. To cover it up, he pretended to spot someone he knew and called out, "Ah! Monsieur Delvok! Monsieur Sheridan! Come over here."

A silver-haired Vulcan man came out from the crowd of visitors with a beautiful human woman beside him. On the woman's side was Ambassador David Sheridan.

"Messieurs, may I have the pleasure of introducing—"

The woman interrupted the French senator by stepping forward and holding out her hand in greeting. Captain Archer, thrown off guard by her boldness, nervously held her hand. "Giuseppina Pentangeli, soprano diva of the 22nd century." She threw her head up and laughed. "The Minbari, they're all _fallite_, mere dust balls. _Solo niente_, they are nothing, _sì_? The new ships, they will save us!"

The Alliance ambassador chuckled, humoring the Italian woman. "The lovely diva will inspire us with her singing at the Geneva Opera House. Madame, I could only wish we could use you as a weapon for the Earth Alliance."

"_Non è possibile, Ambasciatore._" But the diva appeared pleased with the flattery. She turned to the old Vulcan. "And Signore Delvok, he will conduct, take his tempo from me. His music is _magnifico_. So much emotion, it is _difficile_ to believe he is Vulcan. His music is…Chopin meets Vulcan, _capisce_?"

Archer was amused at Giuseppina's Italian flamboyance and presumption. It was such a contrast with Delvok's absolute dispassion.

"She is exaggerating," said the Vulcan, his face completely expressionless. "Captain Archer, you have met my son."

"I have?"

"Kov."

Kov was the slightly obese Vulcan engineer from the V'tosh ka'tur ship. "Oh yes. I remember him."

"_A dio_!" said Giuseppina, wiggling her arm around David's arm. "We are lagging behind the party like tired donkeys. Come, come, we must not dally."

"My dear lady, why don't you go ahead with the senators?" David gently nudged the diva to the two Alliance senators. "I'll be with you later. I hope that your voice will shatter Minbari ships."

"Lá! You just want me in bed, _Ambasciatore_. _Volo no subito_!"

David kept his smile plastered on his face. "No, I don't. Miranda will kill me."

The diva pooh-poohed as she left with the senators.

The ambassador let out a long breath. "Whew! No matter the universe, a diva is a diva!"

"So have you heard from Kov?" asked Archer.

The aging Vulcan looked at the captain silently and dispassionately, giving no clue of his thoughts. David coughed delicately. "That's a problem, Captain. See, Kov is on New London."

"Say, isn't that the colony the Minbari are attacking?" Stiles said.

Archer winced. He knew that Kov and his father weren't on the best of terms. After years of no communication, Kov had finally exchanged messages with Delvok when he aboard the Enterprise. And now to have his son stuck in the middle of a war zone….

"Attacked," corrected David. "New London didn't fall, thank goodness. But it is under siege and that's what Mr. Delvok wants to discuss."

"Indeed. I wish to procure the safety of my son and the other Vulcans of the 'Vahklas.' I have put in a request for an extraction to the Vulcan High Command and the Vulcan Council. Both have declined the request."

"Why the hell not?" retorted Stiles. "They're Vulcans! No matter their feelings or logic, they're Vulcans!"

"The Vulcan Council is…most concerned about compromising the teachings of Surak. The Council is currently of the opinion that further actions in the war with the Minbari will repeat the errors made by Administrator V'Las."

Ambassador Sheridan added, "The defeat at Signet didn't help at all. That's for sure."

"Indeed. The battle at Signet has strengthened Minister T'Pau's position in the Council."

"I sympathize, but what does this has to do with us?" Archer wondered.

"The Tellarites won't do it. I cannot ask the Andorians for help without an intolerable price being exacted from me. The Vulcan High Command won't do it. The rest of the Coalition is neutral in both wars, so I cannot ask the Rigelian Trade Commission, the Coridan Planets or Denobula Triaxa. What remains is Starfleet. It is my understanding that you command a certain amount of respect in Starfleet. Perhaps you could assist in persuading Commodore Tiberius Chase to send vessels to besieged colony."

"You're overestimating my influence, Mr. Delvok. I wish I could help. Admiral Gardner is keeping most of Starfleet close to his chest. Commodore Chase is having a difficult time as it is to gather forces for a counterstrike against the Minbari. Besides, two days ago, the Romulans raided an outpost at Dulisian IV. Starfleet Command is worried that they might be trying to cut us off from the Minosian arms market. What about EarthForce?"

David answered, "EarthForce is tied up with holding the lines, Chase's scheme, and the Andorian Imperial Guard." He became embarrassed. "New London has seceded from the Alliance and renamed itself Terrina. Earth Central reasoned that if the New Londoners, or as we should call them nowadays, the Terrians, clearly don't want us then why should we lend a hand?"

Stiles was outraged. "They're humans! The Minbari don't care about your politics! The colony's on the way to Earth itself!"

Holding up his hands, David said, "I know, I know. Humans aren't logical. And human politicians are the least logical of them all."

"The illogic of politicians would appear to be a constant across species and universes," amended Delvok. Kov's father had delivered that statement without any expression or vocal tone at all.

"Aren't you a shipping magnate, Delvok?" David was putting his diplomatic skills for ferreting out information to use.

This was new information to Captain Archer. "I thought you're a musician?"

"I inherited the company from my brother. Its main office is in the city of Amber on Tau Ceti IV. Though I am the official company president, I'm leaving its administration to a niece. I fail to see the relevance."

"So you're a rich man, Mr. Delvok," concluded David. "You can hire mercenaries."

For the first time, a crease briefly appeared between Delvok's eyebrows, hinting at distaste. "Mercenaries are useless and dangerous."

"Okay. You're providing a few ships for the Ark Project, aren't you?"

"To be precise, Ambassador: My niece is providing the ships."

Archer put in, "The Vulcan shipyards at the Stettin moon in Tau Ceti are part of that company, aren't they? You're the official president, so you can get the ships and crew you need for rescuing your son."

"I…," began Delvok, blinking. Those who were familiar with Vulcan body language could see that he was troubled. "I am uncertain about the latitude I can achieve beyond the Vulcan Council's prohibition on direct confrontation with the Minbari."

Stiles could see where his captain and the ambassador were going. "Well, technically, the prohibition applies to the Vulcan High Command. You're not part of it. Your company's ships are not part of it. So, the Council's order doesn't apply to you."

"That…is what I believe humans would call 'a slippery slope.' Despite the logic and the legal technicalities, I am certain that the Council will make reprisals." Delvok paused as he thought about it. Was his son worth putting more Vulcan lives at risk? Was he worth bringing the Minbari in further direct conflict with the Vulcan Confederacy? Why, even pondering this course of action was illogical!

But he knew that, however illogical it was, he was putting an undue importance on Kov's life.

He also knew that the Vulcan Confederacy's reluctance to confront the Minbari was illogical. So which illogic was the greater, his son's importance or the Council's reticence?

"I have a nephew in the High Fleet," Delvok said finally. "Tovar commands the Shi'Mar. I believe he can give a short and quick course in military conduct to my company's ship crews. I will, however, make a request of the High Command once more before taking such a course of action."

**Vulcan Compound**

**Sausalito, North America**

**United Earth**

"_You are aware of the Council's decision concerning military action with the Minbari."_

"Yes," replied Delvok. He carefully watched Major Talok on his computer screen. Talok was the Council's liaison with the High Command on Vulcan and the overseer of Station Prime. "It is nevertheless illogical to leave stranded Vulcans to the Minbari. Should they be captured, it is highly likely that the Minbari will then obtain perilous information about our ships and our positions."

"_Indeed,"_ said Talok with a raised eyebrow. _"Very well. I will order Captain Tovar to assist you in the matter."_

Delvok blinked quickly, indicating his surprise. If Major Talok did this, then Tovar would be more willing to assist his uncle under the assumption that the penetration of Terrina had the approval of the High Command. Why would Talok risk reprisals from both his superiors and the Council?

As the humans would say, Delvok shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. "You will have my gratitude, Major."

The major nodded and the communication link was cut. Delvok sat back in his chair, thinking. He knew that Minister T'Pau wouldn't appreciate this and she would bring the whole Council with her in the disapproval. He wondered what would push the Council into changing its stance on the war with the Minbari.

It would have to be something truly drastic.

**New Parala System**

**Earth Alliance outpost**

The sun of New Parala was a small brilliant star in the black sky. It gave off a cold blue-white glare that was surprising in its strength for an object so small and far away. Once, it was known to Earth scientists as Van Maanen's Star, fourteen light-years from Earth.

The boiling red-orange crescent of a gas giant hung in the sky, dominating it. On the dark side of a moon orbiting the gas giant, the lights of a tiny and lonely outpost shone. It wasn't an important outpost. Rather, it was an after-thought in the wake of the Earth Alliance's euphoric expansion after the Dilgar War. It would have been left totally alone with only an annual supply ship as a visitor if not for the Minbari War.

A Nova-X-class destroyer was on patrol in the system, looking as if it was pushing its way through space by brute force. Its new centrifugal section was slowly moving as if it was a side of metallic beef on a rotisserie. The destroyer's name could be seen: _EAS Leonov_.

"Jumpgate activating," reported an officer aboard the Leonov.

"Talk to me, Nikolai. Is it a friendly?" said a small middle-aged woman whose blue eyes were not to be trifled with. She was being tense because of the reports of the new Minbari offensives into Alliance space.

"Hard to say with the silhouette…," said Nikolai uncertainly.

A brief star flashed in the dark pit of the jumpgate's vortex and a Hyperion rushed out into normal space.

"Raise them, Aleksandr." When the communications officer nodded, the captain began speaking, "This is the Earth Destroyer Leonov, Tanya Kirbuk commanding. What do I owe the pleasure of your company?"

"_Earth Cruiser Alamo, Justy Tylor commanding. You're in for a treat, Tanya."_

The Russian woman frowned. She didn't like such cryptic short messages. She knew the captain of the Alamo. Or rather, she knew of him. Justinian Tylor was known as an irresponsible young man who managed to become captain only because so many of the seasoned captains have died in the war. "What treat?"

"_Just wait and see."_

Tanya didn't like mysteries one bit. She could report Justy for negligence, but the Alliance was in desperate need of commanders for the war so nothing would be done about it.

Then a star appeared to flash in normal space and a ruby red ship quickly came out of it and slowed to a relative stop. It was a Vulcan Surak-class ship. Tanya was amazed. She had heard so much of Vulcan ships. The 'hoop ship' as she had heard some call it seemed to defy gravity with its ring, though space had no gravity. It was a defiance of conventional structural support and spoke volumes of Vulcan mastery of technology beyond what humanity had available.

"Raise them, Captain?"

"Of course, Alek."

One of the computer monitors on the bridge activated, showing a Vulcan man of indeterminate age. Tanya had heard of the Vulcan fondness for visual communication and she was seeing proof of it.

"_I am Captain Sovran of the Vulcan Cruiser Sochya."_

"Earth Destroyer Leonov, Tanya Kirbuk commanding. Welcome to New Parala. What brings you to the armpit of the Alliance?"

The Vulcan captain quirked an eyebrow at Tanya's colorful description of the system. _"The Vulcan Science Directorate is curious as to the origin of your hyperspace technology. We were informed that the New Parala jumpgate was not constructed by the Earth Alliance, the Centauri Republic or any of the League worlds. We hope that it is a clue to the original builders."_

"We've been trying to figure that out for years, Captain. What makes you think you'll find the answers?"

"_You do not have the benefit of our technologies,"_ answered Sovran simply.

"Okay…." Tanya wasn't sure that this Vulcan was insulting her and her nation or that he was merely stating a fact. "Is this connected to the war? How will it help us?"

"_It is not a military matter. Our research is under the purview of the Vulcan Science Directorate. An effective and immediate military result is highly doubtful."_

Tanya was amazed. They were all at war with the genocidal Minbari and the Vulcans thought they could afford the luxury of such…such impractical research?

The Russian captain was tempted to verbally slap Sovran upside the head. Instead, she only said, "Okay."

The monitor screen deactivated. Slightly miffed by the communication cut, Tanya thought that Vulcans could learn proper manners from humans despite all their exaggerated politeness.

The executive officer bent down to speak quietly to her. "Some alien, isn't he?"

Captain Kirbuk smirked up to him, saying, "_Da_. Cold bastard. But those ears, Vasili…. I'm curious about Vulcans in bed."

Vasili chuckled, shaking his head. "You and your fantasies. Trying to make me jealous again?"

Tanya grinned at the old on-going joke between captain and commander. She turned to watch the Vulcan ship in a monitor screen.

**Vulcan Cruiser Sochya**

Captain Sovran watched his crew work on the sensors and the astrometry dome. In the dome and against a reddish background, pinpoints and dots indicated the star, planets, moons and artificial vessels within the New Parala System. An expanding and contracting circle marked the system's jumpgate.

"What is the composition of the jumpgate?"

"It has four struts that are seven miles long. Each has a fusion reactor with tanks of Quantium-40. For all purposes, it is identical to the gates built by the Earthers, Centauri, Narn and the League worlds." The Vulcan scientist paused to bring up a schematic on her screen. "There is, however, a small difference: this particular jumpgate's internal relays and power grids are organic as opposed to the usual crystalline technology."

Sovran was impressed. Biotechnology on such a scale had been a holy grail of science everywhere. As far as he knew, no one in his universe or in this universe had ever achieved it. "Can we extract a sample without negatively affecting the vortex generator or its beacon?"

"Insufficient data. We shall have to examine the gate in person."

The captain expected that. He turned to another scientist, trusting that the first scientist would take care of the examination process. "What is the prevailing theory behind the establishment of the jumpgate network?"

"The Science Directorate believes it is part of a type of an education program. Many races in this part of the galaxy would discover the abandoned jumpgates or derelict jump-capable ships in the outer edges of their star systems. Notable examples of such races are the Abbai, Centauri, Hyach, Markab and Yolu. They, in turn, spread the technology to other worlds by building jumpgates of their own. The most prolific builder had been the Centauri during the expansions of their empire. The Brakiri, Earthers and Narn are examples of those who have benefited from the Centauri. Occasionally, the races would discover ancient gates, such as the one at Ikarra 7, and repair them for their own use. Very few are actually the original gates, which is the case for the New Parala jumpgate." The scientist brought up information on his computer screen, showing columns of Earther numbers. "The Earth Alliance's Interplanetary Expeditions estimated this gate's age at more than seven thousand and two hundred years."

Sovran appreciated the information. "Perhaps when we establish a direct link to the device's computer system, we might find the identity of the original builders. Once we do, we will go in search of them or of their worlds, if they have gone extinct."

"What about the next system on our list?"

"We will still investigate Sigma 957."

A sensor monitor blipped as it automatically changed what it showed onscreen. One of the scientists, upon seeing it, reported, "We are detecting the formation of a jumppoint."

"Has EarthForce scheduled new arrivals?"

"No, Sovran."

The captain hurried to press an intercom button and urgently ordered evasive maneuvers.

The Vulcan ship quaked with the shock of a weapon shot. The Sochya was under attack.

Neutron beams streaked from a Minbari warcruiser to slam into the Vulcan ship's engine ring. Barely raised shields saved the ring from destruction, but the blue glow flickered off. It could no longer go to warp.

**Minbari Warcruiser Kinsha**

Shai Alyt Vashaer sat in his command chair. The holodisplay screen showed the Vulcan ship before him. "Target weapons systems and the defense energy field. I don't want the ship destroyed."

On the viewing display, neutron blasts streaked from the Kinsha and slicing into the Sochya.

"What are the Earthers doing?"

An officer reported, "They are moving to intercept us."

"Launch fighters. Keep them busy."

**EAS Alamo**

Captain Justy slammed a chair arm with a fist. "Why are they here?! We're far away from the main fronts!" Moving his chair around to glare at his executive officer, he said, "Commander Yuriko, bring me Doctor Harumi."

"_Hai!_"

**Sochya**

Sovran entered the bridge as the Sochya rocked. The bridge crew was working efficiently to his satisfaction. "Report."

"We cannot get a clear lock on the Minbari ship. They have amplified their stealth beyond the recorded maximum."

Another officer reported, "They disabled the warp matrix. We can go only at impulse."

The ship shuddered again. Sovran could not fathom the Minbari single-minded pursuit of the Vulcans. They were conducting a peaceful research and New Parala was far from the main fronts. Furthermore, the Sochya was a lightly armed science ship, as indicated by the meaning of its name: Peace. "Use visual targeting and fire phase cannons at the Minbari."

Green phased laser beams searched for the Kinsha, managing to score a few hits. The warcruiser made a run straight at the Vulcan ship, firing steadily. It was a brutal close range assault.

Aboard the Sochya, Sovran struggled to remain in his command chair as the ship shook.

"We are losing dorsal shields. Subspace sensors are fluctuating."

"Roll us over."

The Sochya rolled completely to the left until it was upside down, firing phased beams as it did. Now it looked like a shark without the side fins. Some of the shots found their mark in the belly of the Kinsha.

"Minimal damage to the warcruiser," reported an officer.

"Continue fire. Attempt to disable their weapons and engine fins."

"Captain, we are being hailed."

The viewscreen changed the battle scene to the image of Captain Tanya Kirbuk. _"The cavalry has arrived, Captain."_

Quirking an eyebrow at the Russian captain, Sovran said archly, "I believe we should dispense with the theatrics, Captain."

On the viewscreen, the Leonov rocked from a neutron blast. _"Of course, Captain. Let's get to work."_

The two Earth ships bore down upon the Minbari warcruiser. Starfuries were now dog-fighting with Nials behind the destroyers.

**Kinsha**

Vashaer watched all this calmly. "Target the flanking Earth ship. The dark boxy one. All forward cannons. On my mark."

In space, the four ships swept around each other, maneuvering for position and firing constantly. The Earth ships were hard put to keep up with their lumbering speed. Nevertheless, phased laser and neutron beams criss-crossed with Earth laser beams and plasma bolts. Then the Kinsha unleashed a devastating volley with all of her forward cannons firing at once.

The neutron storm literally cut the Leonov in two, slicing through the section behind the centrifugal section. The surviving forward part was careening out of control through space. Debris flew across space and slammed violently off the Sochya's forward shields.

**Sochya**

"Forward shields are down to ten percent."

Sovran grunted at the report.

The viewscreen showed the image of Tanya once more. This time, she appeared to be gasping and coughing in the smoky environment as fires burned in her bridge. A few of the visible officers were clearly dead while others struggled to help each other.

"_I'm afraid the cavalry wasn't enough."_

"Do you have life support?"

"_For now. But we're dead in the water."_

Sovran still couldn't fathom the Minbari's brutality. They could have done this to them and yet they didn't. He came to the logical conclusion that the Minbari wanted to capture the Vulcans. The logical course of action was to leave the system. Presumably, the Alamo would be able to flee under its own power. Of course, that may mean the fall of New Parala and the destruction of its Earth outpost.

It was also evident that the humans wouldn't leave the outpost and the disabled Leonov to the Minbari's mercies. The Vulcans couldn't do anything about that without dying. "What is the status of the warp matrix?"

"It is still offline."

The ship rocked to emphasize the point.

"Communications, send full recordings of this to the Rift Station and continue to do so until the end. The High Command must be informed."

"Yes, sir."

The Minbari warcruiser swept past once more for a particularly brutal assault. Neutron blasts streaked along the Sochya's hull, causing a ripping series of explosions.

"We have lost structural integrity on decks nine through sixteen, sections four through ten."

"Emergency bulkheads are holding."

Sovran watched the Kinsha grimly. They would be disabled soon and the Vulcans would have to prepare to repel boarders. He was having a hard time holding down his anger. His people were dying only because the Minbari wanted the Vulcans out of the equation. None of their katras would ever find their way home on Vulcan, thanks to them. The Council and the High Command were keeping themselves out of the war as much as possible and the Minbari just kept bringing them back into the war.

That was infuriatingly illogical.

**EAS Alamo**

Justy Tylor was having his hands full fighting off the Nial fighters and the few potshots that came his way from the warcruiser. He had seen the Leonov be disabled and he was now watching the Boneys disable the Sochya. If the Vulcans fell, there would be no chance in hell for the Alamo or the New Parala outpost.

Doctor Harumi was finally brought onto the bridge.

"Did you tell Centauri Intelligence about this, Doctor?"

Harumi frowned. "This isn't the time, Captain. I have wounded to take care of."

Justy glared at the beautiful woman. "We know you're a Centauri spy." He pointed at the dying Leonov and Sochya. "You must have said something to tip off the Minbari."

The doctor drew herself up straight but then slumped a bit when she looked at the scene of battle. "I told only one person. Lord Londo Mollari. Any more than that, I don't know."

Justy nodded, satisfied with the answer. "Kim, inform Earth Central of this."

"Yes, sir." Kim quickly went to work, but she occasionally glared at Harumi.

"Harold, all power to the engines."

The helm officer looked back at Justy to be sure of the command. He nodded and went back to work.

The Alamo moved forward, engines at full blast. It built up speed as it went straight for the Kinsha.

**Kinsha**

Vashaer saw it. Shocked, he stood up. "Hard about!"

The Alamo slammed into the Kinsha, smashing and grinding into the warcruiser. Everything and everyone on board both ships went flying, until it became too much and both ships were engulfed in a massive explosion.

**Sochya**

Sovran watched as the fireball faded and debris shot out of it. Some of them battered the Sochya's shields while others battered the heavily damaged Leonov.

The Nova-X couldn't stand the new damages. Armor plates fell off and small explosions bloomed anew throughout the shattered remains of the Earth ship. It was being exposed to the vacuum of space, as indicated by a few bodies spinning out of the ship.

"Captain…," said an officer haltingly. "I am no longer reading life signs on the Leonov."

A loud crack startled the bridge crew. Sovran had broken off the tip of a chair arm. Nothing of his anger showed on his face, however.

"Proceed with repairs," ordered Captain Sovran. "I will be in my quarters. I shall discuss today's events with other commanders in the High Command and make a strong recommendation for the Vulcan Council to rescind its prohibition on confrontations with the Minbari. Any objection to that should be noted now."

There were none from the Vulcan crew.

Sovran nodded. "Very well." He departed the bridge to change the course of Vulcan involvement in the war.


	20. Boneheads and Birdies

_Bien: Thanks for the song suggestions. Nice to know there's a soundtrack in my story ;)_

_Artemis: This chapter is a buildup toward the answer you're looking for. Enjoy!_

_Firewolfe: Thanks! I'm trying to follow Moore's philosophy of realism in scifi._

_elbowface: The Earthers are getting desperate. The Ark Project is part of that. Yet, like the typical Earthers they are ;), they can't resist using the project for their own gains. The 'quantum tunnel' project is still ongoing. Not easy to create a hole into another universe. This isn't TNG, after all._

_Sithspawn: Can you clarify what you meant by the confusion? I always appreciate feedback._

_Worker72: Like I said, desperation._

_darkfinder: The Shadows are still in their hibernation. Will they still wake up as in the original timeline? We'll see._

_grayangle: This story isn't in the grave until I say it is. Long waits unfortunately happen. I wish it isn't so, but life interferes. But I try. :)_

**

* * *

**

**Outside the Earth Alliance Sol System**

Deep within the Kuiper Belt, a pair of icy worldlets drifted through the frigid dark. In the distance, the Sun shone coldly and was only a bright dot, just the brightest of the stars in the night sky. All was silent and peaceful.

Sharing the cold sunlight and the peace with the worldlets was a Vulcan combat cruiser. Inside, a hoarse scream tore the atmosphere.

Centurion Selin Telvor watched dispassionately as a Minbari man, his arms tied to a bar hanging from the ceiling, screamed under the lashes of another Romulan officer. Blood covered the prisoner's naked body and pooled under his feet. It also concealed the shredded wounds and exposed bone in a few places. The torturer then paused. She glanced up at Telvor as the Minbari whimpered in pitiful gratitude for the pause.

The centurion arched an eyebrow, silently granting permission. The officer set down her whip and picked up a metal bar, the end of which had been resting in glowing embers. She set that end onto the prisoner's side. The Minbari screamed again, much louder this time, before passing out.

"Interesting," commented Telvor dryly. "He's almost entirely bled out but he's still alive. That says a lot about Minbari resilience. It's almost enough to make me suspect that the Minbari were engineered to be shock troops like our Remans."

The female officer nodded, her face expressionless. Another Romulan splashed ice-cold water from a bucket into the Minbari's face. The prisoner woke, gasping at the sudden cold. He whimpered and sobbed at the thought of yet more pain. All the defiance that was in the Ranger had gone out of his eyes, one of which has been swollen shut.

The Romulan woman prepared to torture the broken Ranger some more when Telvor quietly ordered, "Stop." The Centurion studied the bloodied Minbari closely. "We have enough information for how to operate their ship. Doctor Nijil will want intact subjects. Relatively intact, anyway."

"Yes, Centurion," said the female torturer. "Wouldn't more information be useful in getting us through the Rift undetected?"

"Perhaps." Telvor looked at her thoughtfully. "We have done all we could to keep the ship secured. We've increased its stealth to maximum, kept it tightly tethered behind the Raptor, hidden all of us in this holographic cloak, and put the spare cloaker on the ship. Too bad we couldn't use the Minbari stealth on the warbird. Besides…." He looked at the prisoner, seeing something that was proven to be inferior to Romulans. "The strong will resist and the weak will say anything to end the pain."

It was clear which one Telvor was referring to for the Minbari.

Telvor turned to leave the chamber. The Romulans saluted him by thumping their chests once with an arm and raising it with the palm turned down toward the deck. Meanwhile, the Ranger had fallen into the peace of his own silent night.

**Rift Station**

**United Earth Sol System**

"Captain Archer?" Hoshi Sato's voice resounded throughout the bridge while they were looking at the growing form of Mars and its tiny twin moons in the main viewscreen. The Sol Fleet appeared insignificant but impressively numerous nonetheless.

"Yes, ensign?" the Enterprise's captain replied, maintaining an appearance of calm and hiding his excitement at the view of the Sol Fleet.

"We're receiving instructions from Starfleet Command directing us to take up a position of vigilance at the Quantum Rift."

"Let's do that, Travis."

"Yes, sir."

Archer and the others, including T'Pol, stood watching the many ships as they passed them by.

"That's a lotta ships," commented Archer, still taken aback, along with the rest of the bridge crew, at the large number of Earth starships. He could see vessels of the Bison-class, the NC-class, NW-class, Neptune-class, even a few of the rare NX-class. There were even a few EarthForce Hyperion-class warships. Many of the vessels were the NW-class gunboats that rolled off the space-based and ground-based shipyards throughout the core worlds of the United Earth territory.

"The Sol Fleet," said Malcolm Reed proudly. "Commanded by Admiral Gardner himself, hero of the Nausicaan raids and Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces." Then, grinning widely, Reed said, "With this fleet, we could fight even the Vulcans. Not that it would ever happen, of course."

"Then why isn't Admiral Gardner using the fleet against either the Romulans or Minbari?" pointed out T'Pol.

"He's being…cautious," answered Archer hesitantly. The truth was that he didn't know why and he was assuming that it was part of the admiral's overall plan for the wars against the Minbari and Romulans.

Travis Mayweather scoffed. "Any more cautious and we'd be sitting here until the Birdies come past Pluto."

"Sir," interjected T'Pol, "A vessel is coming through the Rift. It is Rigelian."

"Then let's do our job as customs officers," quipped Archer.

xXx

A Rigelian Trade Commission scoutship was slowly moving away from the Rift. The Rift itself still appeared to be a moon-sized pearlescent sphere with one side torn off to reveal stars within.

"Get their passport, Hoshi," ordered Archer.

"Yes, sir."

Archer watched the scoutship move under its own momentum. Rigel X was a member of the Coalition, but it wasn't an ally in the war against the Romulans. The passage codes were just a formality in security.

He saw Hoshi frown down at her panel.

"Something wrong, Ensign?"

"No, no, sir. The codes are right."

"What is it?" Archer insisted to know what caused his communications officer's consternation.

"It's just that the codes sound and look…stilted. As if…they were sent through a translation matrix."

T'Pol said, "Perhaps they were merely doing us the courtesy of translating their codes into English."

"That's just it. The codes _are_ in Rigelian."

"That is not logical. They are Rigelian so why would they need to translate something into Rigelian?"

"Exactly."

Archer had discussed the possibility of spies coming through the Rift with his superiors. Centauri? Narn? Or worse, the Minbari?

As if Reed had been reading the captain's mind, he said, "I heard the Orion Syndicate has gained influence in the Rigelian Trade Commission. There could be Orions on that ship."

Archer shook his head. "Doesn't make sense. They had to go through the Rift the first time so we should have known if there were Orions on it." He wondered idly whether Orion physiology had any effect on Minbari. "Ensign Sato, call the nearest ship. I want them here yesterday."

"Shall I bring the weapons up?"

"Not yet, Reed. I don't want to spook them yet. But keep them ready. T'Pol, scan them with passive sensors."

As he waited, the scoutship still approached slowly. Hoshi informed, "Sir, they're asking if everything's in order."

"Let them wait. They can't run now, not with the Sol Fleet all over the system."

"Captain," said T'Pol, "there are 14 life-signs as per the Rigelian Trade Commission's regulations for such a vessel. The sensor readings do not suggest that they are Orion. However, there is a lot of power in it, much more than could normally be generated by its engines. It is possible that they have improved their reactors in the other universe but I do not detect any difference from the warp signature that we have on file."

A star flashed on the main viewer and another NX-class starship came into the scene. The name emblazoned on her hull announced it to be the UES Redeemer NX-09.

"Captain St. Clair sends her greeting and signals her readiness," announced Hoshi.

Archer nodded his appreciation. "Mr. Reed, do it."

The Enterprise's phased laser cannons energized and aimed themselves at the Rigelian ship.

The captain nodded at Hoshi who then announced into her control panel. "Rigelian vessel, there is a security concern about your ship and your codes. As per the War Amendment to the Coalition Treaty of San Francisco, you are to heave to and prepare for an inspection."

Both Starfleet crews waited tensely to see the ship's reaction. On the main viewscreen, the Rigelian scoutship remained silent. Seconds turned into minutes.

"Feels like we're at a game of chess," quipped Reed.

"Anything?" wondered Captain Archer aloud.

"No, sir," confirmed Hoshi.

"All right. Tell the MACOs to get in the shuttlepods and board that ship."

The Enterprise pitched forward, causing everyone on board to stumble backward. The lights flickered at the shock.

"What the hell—?!"

"Captain! A ship has appeared out of nowhere behind us!"

The Liandra had decloaked behind the starship and opened fire upon it.

"Sensors can't get a clear lock on it!" reported Reed frantically.

As the Enterprise's crew turned their attention to Liandra, the Rigelian scoutship finally moved and shot at the starship with disruptor beams. An explosion belched out from under the Enterprise's saucer where the beams hit. Impossibly, the scoutship executed a spin-on-a-dime and shot at the Redeemer.

"Get that ship!" yelled Archer.

The scoutship launched a missile which traveled across the void to explode into one of the Enterprise's warp nacelles, putting it out of commission but not destroying it. It then moved fast over the wounded starship and grabbed the Liandra with a tractor beam. To avoid tearing the scoutship to pieces with this grab, the Liandra was already moving to match its course and speed.

The Redeemer moved to prevent their escape, firing phased laser bolts at them. Each of the renegade ships launched a missile at it, forcing it to veer off and avoid direct hits. The Ranger ship positioned itself very close to the scoutship's hull so that the warp bubble could form around both. The renegades warped away perpendicular to the Solar System's plane.

Captain Marie Madeleine St. Clair leaned forward in her command chair on the Redeemer. She was very angry. "Is the Enterprise all right?"

"They're telling us to go after them," replied her communications officer.

Marie nodded and ordered, "Set a pursuit and intercept course. Maximum warp."

On the main viewer, the stars became streaks as the Redeemer accelerated to warp.

"Sir."

The French captain looked to her communications officer again. "What is it, Hamid?"

"We're getting a message from Fleet Admiral Gardner."

"Let's hear it, Mr. Khan."

Hamid Khan pressed a button on his control panel so that the Admiral's voice was heard on the bridge.

"_Redeemer, stay with the fleet. Repeat, stay with the fleet."_

"Sir, there are two ships that broke protocols at the Rift. They are possibly controlled by hostile forces."

"_Negative, Redeemer. You have your orders. Stay with the fleet."_

"Am I to understand, Admiral, that other ships have been sent after them?"

"_That's Enterprise's responsibility."_

Looks of surprise volleyed around the bridge. Marie had to resist the urge to get off her chair and speak directly into the communications console. "Admiral, Enterprise came under fire and is unable to intercept them. We're closing on the fugitives. Once we catch them, we'll be back to the fleet."

"_Captain, this is not your responsibility. As soon as Enterprise is able, they will do their job, not you. You are aware of your scheduled escort duty for EarthForce to Andoria. Come back to the fleet. I will not repeat my order again."_

Marie was dismayed. What was George Gardner doing? She had a choice now. Ignore the Fleet Admiral and pursue the renegades, risking court-martial. Or obey Gardner's order and go back to Mars orbit, risking enemies on the loose in United Earth territory. Since this was a time of war, disobedience was a very serious offense and carried a possible death penalty. So far, no Starfleet officer has been shot for disobeying a superior officer.

Still, what the hell was Gardner doing? She heard of him being a by-the-book guy, but this was ridiculous. She wasn't about to risk court-martial for her crew. The war, and her vow, demanded the Redeemer to stay in the war.

"Yes, sir," she acquiesced stiffly. "Helm, set a course back to the Rift. Have med teams and repair crews prepared to assist the Enterprise." With that, Marie sat back into her chair, resigned.

xXx

The fleeing Rigelian and Ranger ships were soon out of the Solar System. Aboard the Rigelian scoutship, Centurion Telvor studied the status screens grimly. So far, the prisoners were still secure in the Liandra's cargo bays. They had not anticipated the voyage into the other universe so fuel supply had been low when they came back through the Rift. The surprise attack had been a gamble for the Romulans.

But the effort to get past Starfleet back in the Sol System had cost them a lot of precious fuel. Now there wasn't enough fuel in the Raptor's fusion reactor for the ship to get back to the main forward base at Cheron, let alone drag a larger vessel all the way at warp or even dodge any of the enemy patrols.

An officer had suggested bleeding off the necessary power from the Liandra's own fusion reactor. It would be risky, seeing how the technologies were different. Also, it wouldn't be enough. If they were to make it, they'd have to go straight through Coalition space to the Cheron System instead of going the roundabout way, avoiding the main fronts.

Telvor looked his crew working on the console in the center of the bridge. As per the warbird's design, bridge officers had to work closely together in the center, letting a commander watch all of them at once as he or she paced around the circular bridge. The centurion then looked at a screen showing maps of local space. His eyes drifted down to a star that was 16.5 light-years away from Sol.

They could make it there and stop for re-fueling. It would be risky. It could expose the Romulan intelligence ring to the enemies.

But what they were bringing to Romulus was too valuable.

"Sub-lieutenant, once we're outside the enemy's long-range sensors, reprogram the holo-emitters. Uhlan, set a course for Vulcan and contact our operatives there."

Outside, the Rigelian scoutship shimmered and rippled as it morphed into a Vulcan combat cruiser. The size of the combat cruiser was enough to hide the Liandra behind the Romulan spy ship.

xXx

T'Pol had the Vulcan version of black-and-blue on her head. It was a sickly yellow and dark green. As a Vulcan, she ignored the pain. She could have gone to Sickbay to have it treated but there were more serious injuries for Doctor Phlox and his nurses to treat. She pointed to a screen showing the Enterprise's sensor readings.

"The difficulty we had in locking onto the alien vessel is similar to the experience concerning Minbari warships."

"What are you saying, T'Pol?" inquired Reed in alarm. "There's a Minbari ship on the loose on this side of the Rift? Minbari ships are blue and look like they came from the sea. This one doesn't. Its hull has the colors of rust."

With an arched eyebrow, T'Pol indicated her opinion of Reed's powers of observation. "Here, you will note the characteristic Minbari drive fins. The hull is of a polycrystalline alloy. Add the stealth capability to the evidence and we must conclude that the vessel is of Minbari origin."

"Crap!" swore the chief engineer, Paul Stiles. "That's what we need here: Minbari spies!"

"So there are Minbari on that Rigelian ship," put in Hoshi. "Not Rigelians or Orions or whoever."

T'Pol glanced at Archer. The captain knew her enough to see that she was troubled. "Logic dictates that the scoutship was not under Minbari control." She pointed to another screen, showing more sensor logs. "The vessel is equipped with a cloaking device. As far as we know of the other universe, cloaking technology does not exist there. Therefore, it could only come from our side of the Rift. That fact alone leads to a logical conclusion: The Rigelian scoutship was under Romulan control."

Eyes widened all around.

"Not Suliban?" wondered Archer. He had to eliminate all other possibilities.

"The Sulibans prefer to use their own vessels in clandestine operations. Furthermore, it is not within their mode of operation to seize an alien vessel and equip it with their own technology."

Reed said quietly, "Are we…seeing an alliance between the Romulans and Minbari?" He shook his head in horror at the thought. It was a fear that was similar to that experienced by commanders during the Second World War. At the time, they feared the Japanese and Nazis linking up in India or the Middle East.

"Unknown." T'Pol looked at Archer again, troubled. Such an alliance might be tantamount to Vulcan withdrawing from the Coalition and allying itself with the Romulans. "Judging by the Minbari temperament, such an alliance is unlikely. We shall see if that materializes once we encounter other Minbari vessels equipped with cloaking technology."

Stiles glared at the sensor readings as if they shouldn't be there. "T'Pol, dealing with just the stealth on those warships is bad enough!"

"Perhaps the vessel is carrying Minbari envoys destined for Romulus," said Archer. "They might be carrying a treaty for the Romulan government." He hit an open hand with a fist. "Even if that's not true, just the knowledge that we're at war with another powerful and advanced alien species would prompt the Romulans to step up their war against us."

"Jeez." Reed was still shaking his head at the thought of Romulan-Minbari collusion. "The war might just become a race to see who gets to both Earths first, the boneheads or the birdies. Sick as this may sound, but my money would be on the boneheads. If only the Vulcan Council gets their collective head out of the sand and deal with the Minbari!"

T'Pol continued her report. "We have a recording of the Romulan warp signature. If the scoutship was actually a holographic illusion, we will be able to use the warp signature to find the real Romulan ship. If we are to track them down, we must complete our repairs quickly."

"Space is big!" pointed out Travis. "They could be anywhere by now!"

"They were traveling at warp 3. They cannot go too far before we catch up. However, the warp trail will not remain for long."

"All right, people," Archer said decisively. "We're putting in at Jupiter Station to replace some of the burnt out warp coils in the starboard nacelle. It'll have to be quick." As the crewmates left to their posts, Archer thought about the odd order from Fleet Admiral Gardner. He may have been a by-the-book man, but preventing the Redeemer from intercepting the enemy ships may have jeopardized the whole war effort for the Allies.

He hoped that it won't come to that.

**Starfleet Headquarters**

**San Francisco, United Earth**

There was a knock on Admiral Gardner's office door.

"Come in."

Tiberius Chase rushed in before the door was completely open. "Admiral! What's this I hear about you keeping a ship from capturing dangerous people?!"

Gardner seethed as though he wished he could reach across his desk and throttle Chase. "_Commodore_," he said, emphasizing Chase's rank. "I don't have to explain myself. Least of all, to you. You're responsible for the parallel universe, not here."

"Not when there's the possibility that agents from the Minbari have come into this universe."

"You are part of the chain of command under the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, which is me!"

Chase stared down at the Fleet Admiral, not quite believing him. "Okay, what's the plan, Supreme Commander?"

Gardner narrowed his eyes at the commodore, wondering if he meant the title to be sarcastic. No matter. He was secure in his position and didn't need to worry himself over a mere commodore bucking for attention. "The Sol Fleet is a basis for an armada. With it, we can strike deep into Romulan space. Deliver a decisive blow. But only when we're ready."

"What about the Minbari? What about our colonies that can't afford to wait for the armada?"

Gardner looked sharply up at Chase. "We'll be ready."

The commodore resentively muttered, "Inshallah." With that, he turned to go.

"Ty."

Chase looked over his shoulder. It was clear that he didn't like Gardner using his nickname which was used only by friends and family.

"Please trust me. I want to end this war as much as you do. We have rules and without rules, we cannot call ourselves civilized in the conduct of war and peace. We cannot afford to throw away some rules and go chasing down every little problem that's not part of the war."

"And we cannot afford to overlook every little problem, either." Chase went out before Gardner could get a last word in.

**UES Enterprise**

The starship came out of the Sol System's Oort Cloud at impulse. Most inhabited systems had Oort clouds so starships are forced to drop out of warp before entering a system to avoid hitting an Oort object. Once within the system, the ship could go to warp again as long as the path is clear.

This was what Captain Archer was hoping for the Romulans. They escaped via warp and remained at low warp since they had to tow that Minbari ship. The Oort Cloud should delay them long enough for the Enterprise to catch up. So far, the trail had been leading up away from the Sol System.

And it's fading.

Archer was glad that Jupiter Station had been quick about the repairs. Admiral Gardner, for all his faults, had put all the resources available into getting the starship ready for the pursuit.

Of course, he suspected that it's what the Fleet Admiral wanted. Due to the feats he had done as captain of the Enterprise, Jonathan Archer gained a lot of respect in Starfleet, the Andorian Imperial Guard, the Vulcan High Command and the Tellarite Defense Coordination. He wasn't a political animal, but if he wanted, he could possibly use that respect to force Gardner to do whatever he didn't want to do.

It was no wonder that the Fleet Admiral didn't want him to stay in the other universe. EarthForce might start respecting him too. Archer chuckled inwardly. He should be careful about his thoughts because the gods abhor hubris.

Still, he didn't like to think that Starfleet functioned on a system of favors, even unofficially. But that was what often happened. And the Andorian Imperial Guard did function on such a system, officially. Thy'lek Shran held a lot of power that way in the Guard and he owed favors to Archer.

No wonder Gardner wanted the Enterprise to have the sole responsibility of the pursuit.

Politics. Ha.

"Is the trail still there, T'Pol?"

The Vulcan woman studied the reading in the science periscope. "Yes, Captain. It is now in another direction. They are apparently no longer taking a route that would take them to Romulan space."

"They could be trying to throw us off the scent," suggested Reed.

"Long range sensors are indeed detecting attempts at 'throwing us off the scent' as you say, Commander Reed. However, the general direction is specific now."

"Can you get the destination?" asked Archer aloud.

T'Pol worked on her console, extrapolating the warp trail with the stars. And did it again to make sure of the answer that the computer was giving her. She was puzzled. And again. Perhaps the trail meant to go past to some further star system or stop somewhere before it. The computer was still telling her that it was—

"The Vulcan System."

The bridge crew was surprised and puzzled. "Vulcan?" wondered Hoshi. "That's even worse than going to Andoria or staying in the Sol System."

"Well, whatever it is, we'll find the answer there," decided Archer. "Ensign Mayweather, lay in a course to Vulcan. Warp 4.6."

"Captain," interjected T'Pol. She was worried, though she didn't show it on her face. "The Romulans cannot be allowed to reach Vulcan. Whatever the 'answer,' I highly doubt that it will be beneficial for us."

Archer nodded his agreement. "When we find them, we'll intercept them before they reach Vulcan."

"Course laid in, sir," said Mayweather.

"Let's go."

The starship stretched forth as it accelerated to warp and vanished in a warp-flash.

**United Earth Rift Station**

A large saucer-shaped space station rotated slowly at the inner edge of the Solar System's Asteroid Belt. A thick pillar extended from the bottom of the saucer and wings of solar cells strutted out from it. Needle-like spires rose from the center top of the saucer. A citizen of the Earth Alliance might say that Starfleet's Rift Station resembled Earth Force One if it relied on artificial gravity rather than centrifugal force and if it had no engines.

"Commander Machado reporting for duty."

The woman in command of the ending shift stood from her chair, relinquishing it for the incoming shift commander. Machado sat in it and input his access codes while she made last-minute checks on the instrument panels.

"Wait," said the woman. "I'm detecting a disturbance in the Rift."

"Put it on one of the screens."

In a monitor, the stars within the spherical Rift rippled and undulated until bulky vessels appeared as shadows and came through. EarthForce had sent a small fleet of Olympi, Hyperions, and Novas along with wave after wave of starfuries.

"Will you look at that, Elena!"

Both commanders watched as the fleet moved away from the Rift. EarthForce didn't have the delicate and attractive advanced look of Starfleet but it had an appearance of muscle, of tolerating little or no nonsense and was unabashedly military. They knew that it was something that Andorians would appreciate.

Then the last ship came through, causing Machado and Elena to gasp. It was an Explorer-class ship, capable of building and laying down jumpgates.

Looking insignificant, an NX starship joined the Earther fleet. The Redeemer signaled her respect and moved to the head of the fleet. Soon, they reached the jumpgate and a vortex opened the way into hyperspace. The fleet vanished into the blue depths of the vortex.

Machado recovered from the sight in time to see a blinking light on the communications panel. Someone was hailing the station. The communications officer listened through his earpiece. "Sir, Vulcan ships coming in at warp. Captain Tovar of the Shi'Mar is requesting permission to go through the Rift."

In the still active viewer, seven Vulcan ships came out of warp. The lead ship was a Surak-class cruiser while the others were of the older and smaller Telesak-class. Telesak ships were the precursor to the Surak-class and weren't as elegant. On the Surak ships, the stern was not part of the pylon that extended down from the main body to the warp ring, but on the Telesaks, the stern was part of a much thicker pylon, and two extra struts connected the warp ring to the main body. This spoke of an as-yet unfulfilled realization of the physical science that was in the newer Surak ships. As far as Machado knew, the Vulcan High Command didn't use Telesaks anymore except as patrollers at unimportant borders and as orbital sentries. They could no longer compete when the Andorians appeared on the scene and challenged the Vulcans for local supremacy.

This was why the shift commander was surprised. "I thought the Vulcan Council forbade further military involvement?"

"They're not military. They're claiming to be part of a Vulcan civilian company out of Stettin at Tau Ceti."

"What're they planning to do?"

The communications officer relayed the inquiry and soon relayed the reply. "Captain Tovar said they're bringing supplies to Earth Alliance colonies. They have the necessary pass codes."

"All right. Let them through."

Machado watched as the Vulcan convoy made its way into the Rift. He silently wished them luck if they ran into the Minbari.


	21. Ring of Fire

**Vulcan civilian ship Shi'Mar**

**Xi Bootis System**

Captain Tovar felt anxious. Here they were, a flotilla of seven Vulcan ships, on a headlong course to a clash with the Minbari. This action was not sanctioned by the Vulcan Council or its High Command despite the order given by Major Talok to follow Delvok's wishes. The flotilla belonged to a private shipping company owned by the magnate and musician Delvok, so they were technically not under the jurisdiction of either the Council or the High Command.

Technicalities aside, Tovar knew that once they reach New London, the Vulcan Confederacy would be much deeper into the war with the Minbari. The Council had hoped that they could extricate themselves out of the war and let the hostilities wind down and fade.

Tovar looked at the monitor showing the status of the ships in the flotilla. The Shi'Mar was the only Surak-class ship in the flotilla. In a future, the Shi'Mar would be bought by a human magnate and renamed to Hakudo Maru. This, Tovar didn't know at this point in time. The other six ships were of the flotilla were of the Telesak class. The first of this class was launched in the Earth Common Era year 1878. Telesak ships were primarily for exploration and for defending Vulcan interests against outside threats such as pirates. By the time a serious rival in the form of the Andorian Empire emerged, the Telesak class ships, although powerful, were old and nearing the end of their active status. Even finely crafted Vulcan starships didn't last more than a few centuries.

They were essentially testing obsolete ships against the power of the Minbari.

A beep sounded at the communications console. The woman manning the console announced, "The P'jerahlt and the Sr'narai have detected Earth ships at the edge of sensor range. The destroyers have been disabled and destroyed. They were not able to detect life-signs."

"Add their location to the display table."

On a low table in the center of the bridge, a red-hued map of the Xi Bootis A star system was displayed. A small expanding and contracting circle appeared in the system's asteroid belt. Tovar could see that the flotilla would cross the belt before going on to New London itself.

Director Delvok had ordered the flotilla to bring supplies to New London to help the colony withstand the Minbari siege longer, and to bring home any Vulcan found there. Tovar knew that the director meant his son, Kov, and that he wasn't about to admit to a familial emotion. The orders didn't say anything about finding and rescuing survivors. Tovar looked over to the symbols showing Minbari ships clustered around the planet in the system's ninth orbit. Sometimes, the symbols flickered. That meant the Minbari ships were in stealth mode. Many symbols didn't flicker, though. _That_ meant many of the Minbari commanders were confident and didn't expect enemy ships to appear in their midst.

Minbari scans relied on tachyon technology and were limited to slightly over the speed of light. It would take minutes for the Minbari to detect new contacts in the asteroid belt.

"Divert course to the Earth ships," ordered Tovar. "When we are close to the Grendel Belt, drop out of warp, scan for survivors and beam them aboard. Once done, go to Warp 2 and continue on course to New London."

The crew set about their tasks to carry out Tovar's orders.

xXx

The wreckage of Hyperions and Olympi still floated among the asteroids of the Grendel Belt. Many of the wrecks now bore damages endured from asteroid collisions in addition to weapons damages.

Seven small new stars flashed and the Vulcan flotilla dropped out of warp outside the belt. Subspace sensors probed the belt and wreckages. Then the sensors focused on the one ship that still had an atmosphere: the EAS Golden Hinde.

There was no sign of life.

It had been so long since the survivors of the Minbari ambush had any food or water. The air pockets had become poisoned by carbon dioxide. They had all died some time before.

The Vulcan would-be rescuers were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied. The warp ring on each of the red-hued ships glowed once more as the ships turned to a new direction and the flotilla jumped back to warp.

Their destination: New London.

**New Parala System**

If he was human, Captain Sovran would rejoice.

It has been reported that the Vulcan ship Sochya has successfully been repaired. The repairs, however, were not as complete as Sovran would like. The warp matrix was now online, the burnt out shield generators have been replaced by spares and power has been restored to the phase cannons and resequencers. Sovran couldn't say the same for the ship's hull. Many of the breaches were still there and the emergency bulkheads would remain in their places. The Vulcans, for all their vaunted technology, couldn't generate the needed raw material for a complete repair.

The ship's name, Sochya, meant peace in the Vulcan language. Sovran regretted that they couldn't live up to the ship's name. Especially when he intended to recruit other like-minded officers in support of full involvement in the war with the Minbari.

A bridge officer interrupted Captain Sovran's thoughts. "Captain, we are ready to go to warp."

"Set course for Sigma 957."

The officer, as well as other crewmates in the bridge, raised eyebrows in surprise. "Was I mistaken in assuming that you wish to return to Vulcan as soon as possible in order to pursue your new course of action?"

"You were not mistaken. Sigma 957 is on the way to the Earth Alliance home system. It requires only a slight detour. Our task is still to survey known ancient jumpgates and determine the technology's origin. If we complete that task and pursue our promise to bring our government fully into the war at the same time, then it shall benefit us."

The female officer nodded once. "Very well. Course laid in."

"Warp 6."

The crew felt the slight change in the ship's background noise that signaled the jump to warp.

Sovran said, "What do we know about Sigma 957?"

"It is an uninhabited star system that is nominally part of the Narn Regime's territory."

"Nominally?"

"Yes, Captain. The Narn government does not have the resources to take advantage of the system's resources because it is too far from the Narn homeworld. Nevertheless, the Kha'Ri has warned us against going to the system."

Sovran arched an eyebrow. "Indeed. I have learned of their refusal to permit us to make a survey of the system. Fortunately, Ambassador V'Lar has persuaded the Narns to do otherwise." The captain's facial expression very subtly changed. His crew recognized the expression as thinly veiled contempt. "The ambassador had only to speak of her favorable position on Centauri Prime for the Kha'Ri to change its mind."

The officers within earshot agreed with Sovran's low opinion of the Narns. They seemed to wish only to find advantage over their nemesis, the Centauri. They also seemed to be like Andorians but with naked avarice overriding any restraint on their warlike nature. Sovran was of the opinion that the Narns were like children who have been abused and now wished to lash back with greater abuse.

Now there was a race that needed Surak's teachings. Unfortunately, the teaching of Surak was not advantageous to achieving vengeance against the Centauri.

Sovran once read Earth literature in an attempt to understand humans. A quote from one of the books would fit the Narns: "From Hell's heart, I stab at thee; for hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee."

The captain folded his hands on his lap as he considered those words. They could have come from a Vulcan living in the days before Surak. He was glad that Surak had saved Vulcan from its destructive emotions.

He wondered whether the Narns could be similarly saved.

Or the Minbari, for that matter.

**Minbari Warcruiser Trigati**

**In orbit around Terrina, formerly known as New London**

**Xi Bootis System**

Sinoval watched the pummeling of the human colony. Minbari energy and projectile weapons constantly pounded at the planet below. A ring of fire kept the noose around the world. Soon, it would tighten and New London would fall. When that happens, the Minbari would finally advance into the Earth Alliance. Subdue Dakota, then Sirius, and converge with Shai Alyt Branmer's advance at Cooke for the assault on Proxima and finally…Earth.

New London was delaying him. The humans on the besieged planet didn't know, and refused to learn, how to surrender.

He was tired of it.

"Alyt Kalain."

The bearded Minbari snapped to attention in his pillar of light.

"Inform the fleet to prepare for an assault on the colony."

Kalain's eyes flicked to Sinoval and back to the surrounding holodisplay of local space. Rii Deeron could see the question in the commander's eyes. Another assault? She felt similarly. Sinoval had ordered a second assault before only to fail yet again. The planet's ecosphere appeared to supernaturally cooperate with the human and alien inhabitants to resist. She wasn't sure if the fleet could handle yet another such defeat.

Sinoval knew what they were thinking. "I have decided to focus our effort in gaining a foothold on the planet. I realize that a full invasion cannot be done without a foothold. So order the assault to focus on the region of the colony's capital."

"New Pacifica?" Deeron named the capital.

The shai alyt waved a hand dismissively. "Yes. The capital has a spaceport. Take the city, the spaceport and the surrounding area and we'd have a conduit through which we can pour troops for the neutralization of the entire colony."

"Is that necessary?" wondered Deeron aloud.

Sinoval glared at the female warrior. She, however, refused to back down. That made Sinoval secretly proud. He wasn't one to have weak underlings. Deeron said, "We can just bombard the planet and move on to Dakota."

"We can." Sinoval raised a finger and wagged it at the holodisplay of New London. "However, there are Vulcans there. One of their ships is hidden underground. I'm sure of it. We need to find and capture it. If we leave now, the Vulcans could uplift the colony as they had to the Earthers. Once uplifted, the colonists could stab us in the back as we advance toward Earth. That is not acceptable. If we stay and capture them and their ship, New London could prove a prize beyond compare. The prize might be enough to guarantee us victory over the Earthers and their alien allies." A gleam came into Sinoval's eyes. That gleam told of glory and power. "It might even give us the ability to defeat the Shadows without Vorlon help."

Now the gleam infected Kalain and Deeron's eyes. It was decided.

An assault on New Pacifica would be mounted.

xXx

Neutron beams struck savagely at New Pacifica and its surrounding region to clear the way for the invasion. Explosions bloomed in New Pacifica and fires began to burn here and there in the city. The canals and harbor reflected the lights of the assault.

Kov was in the city, tending to its generators. He saw the devastation from a window in the power plant. "Dear Surak," he murmured in horror at the continuing bloodlust in the Minbari beyond the sky. Quickly, he activated his communicator and requested an emergency beam-out.

The transporter effect took him away just as neutron fire struck the power plant and created a large explosion that flattened the local neighborhood. The fires in the city grew.

There was chaos in the Vahklas. The Vulcan ship was still sitting in its cavern deep underground. Kov ran to the bridge to find the crew watching a viewscreen in the circular room. On it was the image of New Pacifica being bombarded as seen from a mountain outside the city. The captain, Tavin, and Tolaris glanced at Kov to make sure that he was safely back. Eleanor Adair was in the bridge as well.

"Is this happening elsewhere on the planet?" wondered Tavin aloud.

To find the answer, Adair squatted down, set her palms to the floor and bowed her head. Immediately, she was in a trance and tapped into the dream plane used by Terrians to communicate. After a while, she looked up at the Vulcans with unseeing eyes. "Only New Pacifica and its province are under attack. I'm asking the Terrians to take anyone they find in the city underground."

Tolaris said, "Don't. Don't do that. If the Minbari are attacking New Pacifica and nowhere else, logic dictates that they desire its spaceport and wish to use it to successfully land troops on the planet. You need to fight them there."

Still looking with blind eyes, Adair said, "Don't you understand? After all this time, you still don't understand? Terrina fights for us."

The Vulcans looked at each other uncomfortably.

xXx

Bhurli ran out of a Torotha assault transport, prepared to shoot down any standing non-Minbari being in sight. His leg had been repaired from the damage it received from the first assault on New London. The doctors had thought it would be easier to amputate Bhurli and replace the leg with a prosthetic. The warrior, however, refused and urged the doctors to fix the leg. It was a matter of pride. It had kept him abed and away from the second assault.

The city square that the transport had landed in was empty. It wasn't empty like there were no people but for the birds and small surface animals. It was totally devoid of life. Flames burned in concentrated areas in the distance and thick smoke darkened the sky. Bhurli shivered out of a superstitious dread. Stories had filtered throughout the fleet and beyond of New London's seeming supernatural aspects. Many officers dismissed the aspects as results of poorly understood technology, but the stories persisted.

Bhurli strolled to the city's main canal. It seemed that the bombed city was completely abandoned. Perhaps the colonists and the natives gave up. If so, New London must be close to surrender.

The warrior grinned with satisfaction and glee.

He noticed that the water in the canal seem to be getting low. He looked out at the harbor and watched as the sea practically emptied itself out of the harbor and canals of the city. The water flowed away out of the bay in surges to such an extent that the deep sea bed was laid bare and many kinds of sea creatures could be seen marooned on the naked sea bed. Bhurli wondered at this miraculous event. The sea has been driven back somehow!

In wonder, many of the Minbari wandered into the empty canals and harbor. Some of them began to gather fish in preparation for camping out in the city. Valen had blessed them with free food and an effortless conquest of the city.

A whistling sound came. Bhurli turned to the direction of noise, puzzled. The sound came from beyond the empty bay. There was no wind to create the whistle. The whistling eventually became a roar like that of a ship's engines as it landed or took off from a planet's surface. Faint red light flashed in the distant horizon.

A breeze came from the direction of the sea, carrying with it the smell of rotten eggs. Bhurli's nose crinkled in disgust and puzzlement. What was causing this? What trick was this?

Water appeared over the horizon. It superficially appeared to be a wave, but it seemed to be more like a trough. Bhurli gaped with dawning realization. It was an entire ocean tide rushing over the naked sea bed with a roar.

Pandemonium erupted among the Minbari warriors. Men and women ran away from the sight of the incoming tsunami. Many were trampled under others' feet. Some of the transports and fighters hurriedly lifted off, abandoning the warriors on the ground.

Almost none of this was in Bhurli's mind. He could have run. He could have done something to try and save himself from the tsunami making its way toward New Pacifica. But all he did was stand on the edge of an empty canal and watch the might of Minbar be swept by a force of nature. The roiling water quickly consumed the warriors within reach. It boiled as if with the anger of the planet itself rising to strike down those who would dare wound and intrude upon her.

Bhurli looked up at the calm blue sky. Valen hadn't blessed them after all.

The water slammed into Bhurli, breaking his body. The already dead warrior vanished in the darkness of the vengeful waters.

xXx

On the Trigati, Sinoval wordlessly stumbled backward out of his pillar of light into the darkness. The tactical center's holodisplay had shown the complete destruction of his army by a tsunami in New Pacifica. Most of the fires burning in the city had been doused by the water, though much of the city has been devastated by the tsunami. Kalain and Deeron watched him. They were as stunned by the turn of events but they still looked to their shai alyt for strength and order.

An alarm sounded. The three Minbari command staff looked to the source of the alarm behind themselves. The holodisplay now showed the arrival of a small Vulcan fleet as it dropped out of warp.

There was no time to deal with the disaster on the planet. Battle was about to be joined.

xXx

The Vulcan ships fired phase and particle cannons at the outlying Minbari ships as they fought their way to Terrina. The foe was caught between the Vulcan flotilla and Terrina, whose largest missiles flew into space to strike down Minbari craft. Energy batteries fired into orbit as well.

Desperate was this battle. Ships maneuvered under direction from artificial intelligences, so fast that only the artificial gravity fields prevented their crews from being smeared across the bulkheads. Vulcan shields flared with enemy neutron fire. Hulls were blown open by near-misses. The wounded portions sealed themselves off with Vulcan force fields and Minbari emergency bulkheads, and the remainder of the wounded ships continued to fight.

Such was the way of space war. But the Vulcans weren't there to force the Minbari out of the system. Firing eerily accurately, the Vulcans force their way to the planet. Directed by communications from the hidden Vahklas, the red needle-shaped ships dove for Terrina, breaching the blockade. Soon, they were into Terrina's atmosphere.

The first glimpse of smoke-veiled New Pacifica made the Vulcans doubt that anything was left to rescue. For hundreds of miles around, the land lay bleak, ripped and desolated by Minbari weapons and by the recent tsunami which still roiled at the shores. They glimpsed a Minbari fighter squadron as it screamed low over New Pacifica. Their missiles burst close, causing the near-solid stone of the surface structure to flow on the outside. In the hills around the ruined city, rock bubbled molten wherever a Minbari missile or beam had newly struck. Here and there, the seared earth opened and gun turrets thrust out like viper tongues, spat energy bolts, and retracted before fresh explosives could smite them. Three Nials tumbled in ruin. Their wrecks were added to the carnage which was left from earlier attacks and from the tsunami.

Again, directed by communications from the Vahklas, the red ships flew on over the land, taking potshots at the Nial fighters swarming around the flotilla. Occasionally, a thick beam burned from above, attempting to strike down the Vulcans. Soon they were over blackened valleys in a mountainous region, their shields visibly holding their own against Minbari bombardment from beyond the sky and from the blue-hued fighters. The ground turned into quicksand and the ships landed and sank into it until the Nials could no longer touch it and they were safe from the Minbari besiegers.

xXx

All this, Sinoval and his crew watched with growing anger and frustration. The seven red ships were sure to contain supplies and provisions for the planet's inhabitants. The shai alyt glared at the view. Other than this sign of frustrating anger, Sinoval seemed calm. He had gone past the point of rage.

Calmly, but with an undercurrent of anger, Sinoval said, "Load nuclear ground-strike missiles."

Kalain bowed and turned to speak into the darkness. "This is a nuclear mission order…."

While the alyt spoke, Deeron sidled up to Sinoval and whispered, "Are we going to irradiate the planet?"

The shai alyt looked down at the female rii. She recoiled from the cold fire burning in his eyes. "We are going to kill the planet's resistance. It's something we should have done long ago." Looking up to Kalain, Sinoval amended his order, "Target all military facilities and major population centers on the planet."

Deeron started at the order to target the major cities. "With respect, Shai Alyt, is that wise? The Grey Council has instructed us to remove only the military capabilities. If we start broadening the war now, the Grey Council might not like it."

"We cannot qualify war in harsher terms than I will. War is cruelty and we cannot refine it. We must bring that fact to the humans. We can make war so terrible and make them so sick of it that their resolve to resist us will be broken."

Deeron bowed, accepting Sinoval's statement.

**Sigma 957**

The Sochya arrived at the system and entered orbit around the barren-looking planet.

"Begin scans of the local jumpgate," ordered Captain Sovran.

He studied the image of the planet in the main viewer. Idly, he went to satisfy his curiosity by initiating his own scan of the planet. When data began to roll down his sensor screen, his eyebrows rose in surprise. The sensors were detecting very rich deposits of Quantium-40. In fact, if the sensors were functioning properly, Sigma 957 may be one of the richest in the quadrant, comparable to the dilithium wealth of Coridan. Sovran was puzzled. They had been told that the planet was too far from Narn for the local government to exploit it. However, if the Narns knew about Sigma 957's wealth, they would be expending as much energy as possible to establish a mining colony along with a military presence.

Sovran leaned to study the sensor screen more closely. "Fascinating." The sensors were also detecting roads and structures under the sands. In fact, there appeared to be an ancient vast city-complex covering most of the planet's surface. This was the closest to an ecumenopolis, a world city, that Sovran had ever seen.

Vulcan science had theorized about such a concept, that when population growth is unchecked, metropolises would expand and eventually fuse to become a single continuous globe-spanning city. A world undergoing this level of hyper-development would presumably either have its food imported from other planets or grown in vast orbital or subterranean hydroponics facilities. Unless the culture that built such a civilization has a highly developed replication technology.

Sovran struggled to keep his excitement under control. "Sivan, what is the telemetry of the local jumpgate?"

The named officer appeared to be slightly disappointed. "The data makes it clear that the Centauri built it."

"I believe that we have not squandered this visit. We may have discovered an advanced ancient civilization. We shall gather the necessary equipment for a preliminary survey and go down to the surface by shuttle."

"Might that not divert us from the task of informing the Vulcan Council about our need to contain the Minbari aggression?"

"The preliminary survey will—"

Sovran was interrupted by the appearance of an intense burst of light. A hole opened in space near the Vulcan ship. It was filled and surrounded by lightning-like discharges of energy. A huge vessel spilled out of the lightning-filled hole and the hole closed up. There was a shallow dark hemisphere covering one side of the vessel and what appeared to be bones making up most of the ship's body. A relatively small ball tipped the whole thing. Bright white and colored lights moved on the ship's smooth hulls, leaving the bone-like structure dark, while motes of bright colorful light moved about the ball like bees worrying a flower.

It was one of the most unusual vessels that the Sochya's crew had ever seen or heard. No, Sovran amended, it was _the_ most unusual.

The lights on the Sochya dimmed as the huge vessel passed. Sovran was alarmed to find that power was being drained by a dampening field surrounding the alien vessel. He quickly ordered, "Move us back to a safe distance from the vessel!"

The red ship backed away from the unknown alien and, as power returned to its systems, the blue glow on its warp ring brightened slightly as the crew prepared to flee at warp in case the alien should prove hostile.

This action seemed to attract the alien's attention.

An apparition appeared in the Sochya's bridge. It seemed to be a tiki idol's head with faces cut into all four sides and the glow of a blast furnace issuing from the eyes and mouths as well as the open top and bottom.

Sovran stood up from his command chair. This was a First Contact situation. He raised his hand and split his fingers in the Vulcan salute. "I am Sovran, son of Asil, son of T'Vran. I and my crew are from the planet Vulcan—"

The tiki apparition rumbled like a distant jet engine and moved slightly as it listened.

"We are explorers seeking peace and prosperity with other civilizations."

The Walker seemed to look around at the bridge and the Vulcan crew watching it. **"You are not in the proper milieu."**

"I…do not understand."

The Walker apparition faded and vanished. Sovran looked to Sivan. "Are they departing?"

"No. I believe they are contemplating us."

The power faded again. Before Sovran could move to remedy the problem, the Walker appeared again. **"You will be placed in the proper milieu."** The apparition vanished again.

Power on the Sochya continued to fade until there was just enough to maintain life support. Sovran wondered if the alien intended to capture the Vulcans for study.

A lightning-filled hole opened again in space. Now that the captain had a chance to see the process, he surmised it to be the alien's version of a jumppoint. But there was a difference this time: a green glow permeated the vortex. Some of the motes of colored light hovering around the alien vessel moved to surround the Sochya. The Vulcan ship was pulled along as the Walker ship moved into its jumppoint. As they came closer to the vortex, a green glow now covered the alien ship and soon also covered the Sochya.

Instead of the expected hyperspace, the Vulcans were introduced to a dimension where it was totally black. It was as if all the stars and nebulae in space were gone. It was an interesting phenomenon to the Vulcans, though it made them slightly uneasy as it offered no clue of movement. The alien vessel was still in front of them, tractoring the Sochya along with its colored lights.

Soon, the stars slowly reappeared, signaling their exit from interspace. The colored motes around the Sochya returned to their parent vessel. The Walkers then created a lightning-filled vortex once more and vanished into it, leaving the Vulcans behind. Power returned to their ship.

Sovran could see that the planet Sigma 957 wasn't there anymore. "Where are we?"

Sivan worked at his station to find the answer. He looked up with a surprise that he didn't hide. "We are at the edge of the Vulcan System in our universe."

Sovran felt like gasping. Instead, he murmured, "Most fascinating."

They had found a race with multidimensional travel technology. The aliens of Sigma 957, if that was indeed their homeworld, must be as far above the Vulcans as the Vulcans were above the Earth Alliance.

The multiverse just got a lot more interesting.


	22. Bloodied Hands

_The Sithspawn: Maybe the Coalition will try to contact the Walkers. They might think that the Walkers are on their side. Think of it: The Vulcans needed to go back to Vulcan to report on the Minbari attack in New Parala. They needed to pressure the Vulcan Council into a proactive stance against the Minbari. Then the Walkers just happens to decide and drop them at Vulcan itself. Coincidence? Doubtful. ;)_

_Gaby: Thanks. Jha'dur is still on Minbar and the Warrior Caste's still consulting her. We may see her again._

_grayangle: The universe shouldn't be all blood and toil, should it? Wonders are part of it all. Otherwise, humanity wouldn't like to go out into the galaxy. The Walkers are just a tiny fraction of the wonders that we will encounter._

_Worker 72: You'll see in this chapter. What spy cell? innocent look_

_Jc: Thanks. I like to see equalizations in crossovers and this is my attempt at that. As for the Dilgar War, I don't know. Lightning Count does a very good job of it. We'll see. If I do decide to write it, it'll be a long time down the road after I finish most of my fics._

_Lorelai Gilmore: Why do we need the Vorlons lobotomizing the Vulcans?_

_A Reader: It's called artistic license. In the universe of this story, Earth 2 never had artificial gravity. It's very minor. Besides, Earth 2's Earth has become uninhabitable and most of humanity lived in space stations. Here, Earth is still very habitable. The years chosen are different as well. In Earth 2, it's very far in the future, while here, the Eden Advance Team went to Earth 2 some time before the Centauri First Contact. As for the tech aspects, I feel it's on par with the Earth Alliance. The EA once experimented with cyborgs, had virtual reality technology and remote medical scanning tech. Not too different from the EA. Like I said, artistic license._

_Yes, I know what Entil'zha means._

_The Vulcans were much more advanced than Earth in this era. Earth had its resequencers while Vulcan had its replicators. Of course, it isn't as advanced as the TNG's replicators. Vulcan replicators would be similar to the food dispensers on the TOS Enterprise. There, people can get food in a dispenser anywhere on the ship. That says 'replicator' more than 'resequencer'. Plus, Vulcan didn't share most of its technologies with the Federation until later after the founding and before TOS. Even during the Movie Era, Vulcan still had a few technologies that Earth didn't have. In a way, it's similar to Japan being more advanced than the United States in a few aspects at one time._

Yes, the blue-skinned natives are Andorians. Most of the alien homeworlds have their counterparts in the Babylon universe. In there, the Centauri conquered them before the Andorians could have a space program. They conquered the Tellarites too, but Tellar has been destroyed in one of the skirmishes between the Centauri and Narns. Vulcan was destroyed in the last war with the Shadows. Betazed didn't get struck by a meteorite so the Betazoid people continued to evolve as an aquatic species and became the Abbai. The Klingons were the Xon in the Babverse and so were exterminated by the Centauri, whereas in the Trekverse, the Centauri has been exterminated by the Klingons on their homeworld. Fascinating, isn't it? ;)

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**Terrina**

Tavin released a sigh of relief. The Vulcan ships were safely brought underground by the Terrians. The Minbari had been tightening the noose around Terrina. Orbital bombardment had been occurring nonstop. But the planet's underground shelters were built to withstand such forces. The humans and the Terrians had provisioned them well. However, these shelters were expected to withstand an attack by EarthForce when the colony rebelled against the Earth government, as planned. The war with the Minbari certainly wasn't expected.

The fiery shower of Minbari bombardment had gone on day and night. The people did nothing but eat what they could get, sleep when they could, and dodge the missiles and beams. The Vulcan convoy had come in time. Supplies were sorely needed in spite of the abundant provisions.

However, Tavin was surprised that the convoy wasn't from the Vulcan High Command. It was a civilian, albeit armed, convoy sent by a company based in Tau Ceti. That spoke of the company's considerable wealth and power.

And Captain Tovar informed him that the company's magnate was Delvok, a composer famed for his seemingly emotional music and…father of Kov.

It was clear that Tavin needed to speak with Kov.

"Tavin," called out Tolaris. "I believe you should see this." With that, he pressed a command into his console.

The viewscreen came on, showing the distant city of Eden City. It seemed peaceful and there were even the tiny pinpricks of people hurrying around the city during the halt in the Minbari bombardment. The city was founded in the arid valley in honor of the colony's founders' landing. "Tolaris, I do not see what—"

A hemisphere of pure liquid fire suddenly appeared, covering the city. Everything in the viewscreen went dark, but the smooth sphere of flame quickly brightened until the viewscreen could no longer filter out the bright light consuming everything and the Vulcans had to raise their hands to protect their eyes. Soon, the light faded and the globe of flame kept expanding and a heat wave visibly spread out from it. A circular cloud formed over the explosion as the planet's atmosphere reacted. The ball of fire cooled and rose to become the all too dreaded mushroom cloud.

Trees that were visible in the camera's view became shadows in the dull brightness. Ashes and smoke came off the tree trunks and branches as the heat scorched them. Then the shockwave came and the trees were vaporized, then the camera died and the viewscreen snowed.

Tavin was shocked and horrified. Tolaris only watched grimly. Kov watched with his mouth open.

**Sochya**

**Vulcan System**

Captain Sovran was still reeling from the interdimensional travel. He needed to return home as soon as possible to pressure the Vulcan Council to fully pursue the war against the Minbari and the Sigma 957 aliens had obliged. Surely, that wasn't their intention. Nevertheless, they were now in a position to go straight to Vulcan without going the roundabout trip through the Rift.

Maybe when the war's over, they could attempt to open relations with the aliens. Or perhaps they could try it during the war. The aliens' method of travel could conceivably turn the tides of both wars currently fought by Earth and Andoria.

But first, Sovran must go to the Vulcan Council.

**Terrina**

In the Vulcan ship Shi'Mar, Captain Tovar sat in his command chair. He was leaning forward and clasping his hands anxiously. This was a breach of Surak's precept of emotional control, he knew, but other Vulcans could excuse him. Indeed, his crew seemed to be having similar reactions to the events unfolding on the main viewer.

On it, the local news company, Terrian Broadcasting Corporation, was hurriedly reporting on the events transpiring all over the planet.

"We don't have any more information yet, but, uh…"

"…all remaining ships should stay underground until…"

"…Minbari has escalated their siege…"

"…if you're not underground, get out into the open countryside or the lesser populated areas…"

"…but there doesn't seem to be any doubt…"

One of the news feeds went out, snowing until another feed came in. In it, the Vulcans could see the force of a blast hitting the reporter and the cameraperson before the feed also went to static.

"What have we done?" wondered Tovar in horror. Logic could only dictate that this latest atrocity by the Minbari was precipitated by his convoy's break through the enemy siege lines. Atomics had not been used in anger by Vulcans since S'Task's followers left Vulcan centuries ago. The humans had not used them since their third world war, except in space combat, but never against inhabited worlds. Only the Romulans had done this to human colonies such as Qualor II, but not on this scale.

Barbarians!

xXx

Sinoval watched as mushroom clouds form all over the besieged planet. He could see the faint contrails of missiles rushing to their targets, vanishing as new flashes of explosions appeared here and there, becoming new mushroom clouds. The planet was dying.

The shai alyt allowed himself to feel satisfaction.

"Shai Alyt," said Deeron cautiously. "The siege seems to be over. The humans cannot pose a danger to our rear anymore. Do we continue on to Dakota System?"

Sinoval glanced sideways at his rii. "There are scores of humans huddling under the planet's surface. They have weapons stockpiled there. They will continue to be a threat to the advance to the human homeworld." He turned his back on the holodisplay of Terrina. "There are still the Vulcans. Their ships have taken refuge underground. I mean to capture them."

Deeron looked troubled. The Vulcans had proven dangerous to the Minbari battle fleets. "We have received preliminary reports from the Anla'shok. They have searched the stars for the systems of the new alien races. So far, they've found nothing. The only clues they could find were in human territory itself and most stories point to them coming from the human home star system. If they somehow come from there, then it would be prudent for us to follow Shai Alyt Branmer's orders and continue the advance to Sol." Sinoval had turned to watch the bombing of Terrina. She continued. "We have a schedule. We must make the advance so that we meet Branmer's fleet at the Cooke System for the assault on Proxima and Sol."

More flashes of lights bloomed into mushroom clouds on Terrina's surface. Everywhere, clouds were burned away and new circles of clouds appeared over the flashes. New mini-suns were blooming all over the planet.

Sinoval knew that Deeron was right. This human colony was no longer a threat. Even though he was satisfied with its removal, an ashy taste was left in his mouth. Though he succeeded in neutralizing the colony, he failed. Do holy wars cost so much? Sinoval looked down at his hands. So clean, yet so bloodied.

He looked up and squared his shoulders. The deed has been done. They were all committed. "Very well. Send three-fourth of the fleet on to Dakota. The rest shall remain here in orbit to watch for the Vulcans and, if possible, capture them. The Trigati shall lead the advance to Dakota and beyond."

Deeron and Kalain bowed.

Sinoval turned to go away, hesitated and looked back at Terrina once more. His face was unreadable before a frown creased his forehead slightly. Putting the colony out of his mind, he turned his back on it and strode purposefully through the tactical center. Deeron and Kalain stood silently, following him with their eyes until the shai alyt vanished through the curtain of holographic night.

**ShiKahr, Vulcan**

Captain Sovran was dismissed. The captain of the Sochya bowed to the Vulcan Council and stepped out of the Council chamber.

Fighting a feeling of frustration, Minister T'Pau leaned back in her chair and steepled her fingers. The Council had just received Sovran's report of the battle in New Parala and of the encounter with the Sigma 957 aliens. She had been hoping that Vulcan would keep itself out of the war in spite of the Minbari's declaration of hostilities against her people. The precepts of Surak, as recorded in the Kir'Shara, demanded pacifism among the Vulcan people. That hope has come into doubt.

"This is not agreeable to the Council's policy," stated Mehen, Minister of Security. She subtly lowered an eyebrow in consternation. "The Minbari are clearly pursuing the removal of Vulcans from the other universe."

T'Pau thought of how it would be easy to grant the Minbari wish by withdrawing all Vulcans from the other universe. However, Vulcans were too curious about it, so that course of action was not possible as long as the Rift was open. She thought of how before the appearance of the Rift, the Science Directorate claimed that no parallel universe existed despite its allowance by the theory of quantum mechanics. "We can order all ships to avoid the war zone and the star systems near it."

Mehen said, "That is illogical. The Earth Alliance's home system will soon be part of the war zone. Would we have Vulcans strand themselves once the Minbari reach the Sol System?"

"We must adhere to Surak's teaching," retorted T'Pau. "The battle at New Parala proves that we must avoid confrontation at all cost."

"That will be difficult," pointed out First Minister Kuvak. "Captain Sovran has called our attention to petitions being made by officers of the High Command for full involvement in the war."

T'Pau frowned. "The High Command had once walked this path. That has caused us to stray from Surak's teachings and nearly plunged the entire sector into interplanetary war."

"Indeed," agreed Kuvak. "Starfleet likewise continues to petition us for military intervention in the war with the Romulans. We cannot afford to do that while Vulcan still struggles with reforming itself according to the Kir'Shara."

As First Minister, Kuvak had the final say in the formation and implementation of Council policies. If T'Pau convinced him, the Vulcan Confederacy would remain peaceful. Perhaps it was unfortunate that she didn't have the experience and merit to be raised to the First Ministry. It would be years before the Council came to that.

Mehen said, "Would it not be more logical to allow the High Command to send the needed ships and end the Minbari war as quickly as possible?"

T'Pau threw a look at the security minister. Those who knew her could see that she was annoyed. "That was how V'Las subverted this government. We tired of skirmishes with the Andorians and he decided to unleash the High Command against Andoria itself. As we are aware, he failed. A similar course of action concerning the Minbari is illogical."

"A complete withdrawal from the other universe is equally illogical."

The former Syrranite leader narrowed her eyes at Mehen. The security minister consulted the computer inset into the table in front of her. "The V'Shar has intelligence that the convoy sent by Delvok of Stettin has successfully broken through the Minbari siege of the Earther colony of New London."

A murmur rose among the Councilors. "Perhaps we should censure Delvok," suggested another minister.

"That course of action will not succeed. Though Delvok is still officially Director of the Stettin Corporation, he has turned most control over to another member of his family so he could pursue his music career." Mehen looked around at the Council assembled at the round table. "The example set by Delvok has inspired officers within the High Command to consider actions independently of the Council should we not resolve the Minbari question."

"This is becoming uncontrollable," said T'Pau as she almost glared at Mehen. She transferred her hot look to Kuvak. "If they ignore this Council, it could create a situation where the Council would be forced to re-assert its control of the High Command and to attempt the arrest of errant ships and commanders. It is possible that we would be forced to disband the High Command completely and create a new defense force."

"What would you have us do?" inquired the First Minister.

T'Pau sat silently and thought about the question carefully. Mehen decided to interject another statement into the silence.

"Furthermore, the V'Shar has received intelligence on the Minbari's own reaction to Delvok's action. They have begun to bombard New London with nuclear weapons. We do not have data on whether our people survived."

The silence became one of shock. T'Pau narrowed her eyes at Mehen once more. It seemed to her that the security minister should have divulged all the information and that she gave it in small pieces in order to manipulate the Council discussion toward a foregone conclusion. It was likely that Minister Mehen was one of those who supported a proactive stance concerning the Minbari question.

"I do not desire the situation I have just described." T'Pau took a deep breath as her eyes glittered with steel. She didn't like being forced into decisions that she didn't want to make. "Therefore, I agree under protest to send a High Command fleet to fulfill the proposed counterstrike against the Minbari." Ignoring the various expressions of surprise in the Council, T'Pau consulted her computer inset into the table in front of her. "I think that twenty-three ships shall be sufficient for the counterstrike."

"So ordered," agreed First Minister Kuvak.

T'Pau nodded and thought about how she would assign most of the supporters of the proactive stance within the High Command to the fleet. She thought that they should learn that there are consequences to actions. Inwardly, she promised that once the war is over, she will downsize the High Command so that it would never again wield such bargaining power over the Council. A small defense force should be sufficient to guard the Confederacy. T'Pau admitted that the galaxy would still be a dangerous place and major wars could still occur as expansionist ambitions clash. A solution to safeguard Vulcan against such things would be to allow the Coalition to expand around the Confederacy, thereby giving a protection whose burden that Vulcan didn't have to share. This way, the future defense force would only have the responsibility of keeping order within Vulcan space. To move in that direction, T'Pau would have the government to begin closing distant outposts and bases, contract the Confederacy's territory to just the systems that had Vulcan colonies, use strong diplomacy to encourage Coalition expansion while not being active members of it.

First Minister Kuvak was speaking. "We shall focus on discussing the disturbing reports of young Vulcans disappearing throughout the Confederacy…"

T'Pau leaned back in her chair and steepled her fingers as she tuned out the new discussion. Yes, her plan would fulfill Surak's teachings. T'Pau just needed to end this dangerous war with the Minbari as quickly as possible to realize the plan.

**Vulcan Combat Cruiser Ni'Var**

**On patrol near the Coridan Sector**

"Ni'Var" was a Vulcan term referring to the duality of things: two who are one, two diversities that are a unity, two halves that came together to make a whole. Literally, it meant "two form" and it was an art form practiced on Vulcan in which a subject is examined from two different viewpoints.

All this, Captain Sopek knew. In terms of its having two different aspects or natures, the name appealed to him and it was why he chose it when the ship was constructed.

Sopek pulled himself out of his reverie and returned to reading the report on his desk computer. There were rumors that the pirate Bien Cain was in the area and there were standing orders to apprehend him. The crimes and complaints against him were impressive: smuggling, escaping prison, forgery, sacking Aurora Station without firing a shot, raiding Verex III, sailing under false colors (the Kriosian Sovereign Guard and Starfleet), freeing slaves, looting, poaching, brigandage, depravity, vandalism, impersonating officers of the Coalition governments, arson, kidnapping, hijacking, piracy in the Borderlands and among the Earth colonies, perjury, theft and ransacking. There was a very large bounty on him.

At last report, the pirate Cain had hijacked and kept a Kriosian battle cruiser for himself. A most impressive feat considering the discipline and prowess of the Sovereign Guard.

Other rumors told of how the Coridan government has opened its territories to a new alien species. Sopek was inclined to believe that. For so long, the Vulcans had supported the government of the People's Republic of Coridan, kept it solvent. When the Reformation occurred on Vulcan, that support had melted away while the Andorians continued their support of the Coridan rebels until the Romulan war. It was no wonder that Coridan hired mercenaries from other races.

If the rumors about the new alien species were correct, the aliens were the same as those that the Vulcans had last encountered eighty years ago. It was a troubling development, not only because Coridan showed its distrust in not turning to the Coalition for help, but also because the species could eventually become a worry for the Coalition governments as well as the other major powers in the quadrant.

The ship intercom chirped for Sopek's attention. He pressed the crystalline button to activate it.

"_Captain, a Rigelian scoutship has entered our sensor range and is on an intercept course with the Ni'Var."_

Alerted by the report on Cain, Sopek wondered if it was another of the pirate's antics. Surely, he wouldn't attempt to challenge a Vulcan cruiser. That would be suicidal for his career. "Very well. I shall be in the command center."

xXx

By the time the Rigelian ship dropped out of warp and impulse, Sopek was ready. The Ni'Var had its shields raised, but her weapons weren't armed yet. They had yet to detect hostilities on the scoutship.

"Captain, they're hailing us."

Sopek laid his hands on the arms of his command chair. "Onscreen."

When the main viewer shifted to show the command center of the Rigelian ship, Sopek raised an eyebrow. He could see the humanoid Rigelians who shared a similar physiology and neurology with Vulcans, but the officer facing Sopek was clearly not of the same species. The bipedal being appeared to have descended from a turtle-like species. He could only be a member of the Chelons of Rigel III. They rarely ever ventured beyond their home system. The being wore white drapes with a shiny black cuirass and helmet. Already, this encounter was intriguing to Sopek.

"_I am Lord Cobaryn of Zemtar Fortress, commanding the Rigelian ship Kalar."_

"I am Captain Sopek of the Vulcan cruiser Ni'Var. What is your purpose in intercepting us?"

"_We were requested by an officer in the Vulcan High Command to intercept you and to have you escort us to the Vulcan-Earth border."_

Sopek's eyebrow rose in surprise. The High Command should have informed him of their request. "This is highly irregular. Can you verify this?"

The Chelon lord gestured at one of the humanoid Rigelians. _"I am sending the receipt and the secondary orders that came with it."_

The Vulcan captain went to the communications station and watched as the message came in. He was surprised again. The request had come from Major Talok in Vulcan Space Central. The secondary orders were sealed for Sopek's eyes only and required his pass-code. He dismissed his communications officer and input the codes. When he read the orders, his surprise grew.

"Very well, Lord Cobaryn. We shall escort you to the border."

The Chelon bowed his helmeted turtle-like head and the communication link was cut.

One of Sopek's crewmen appeared troubled. "As you've pointed out, Captain, this is highly irregular. What are the orders?"

"Did you not hear me, Sub-commander?"

The sub-commander nodded. "However, are the orders authentic? We are already assigned to search for and apprehend Mr. Cain and his cohort."

"The orders have been authenticated, Kinis. They come directly from the High Command."

Kinis nodded to indicate his acceptance. Still, he appeared to be slightly troubled.

All this seemed to be of the cloak-and-dagger variety. Kinis hoped that it would all make sense once they reached the Earth-Vulcan border.

He regretted that they didn't have the chance to arrest the pirate Cain.

**EarthDome, Geneva**

**Seat of the Earth Alliance**

President Elizabeth Levy longed for some peace and quiet. At this moment, General Lefcourt was re-examining the strategic overview of the war with his senior officers. Levy remembered the days before the Minbari war began. She, along with her aides and spin-doctors, had carefully cultivated the image of herself as a grandmotherly figure in the public consciousness. In truth, she was a political animal who could be vicious in the halls of power when she wanted to. Most of the time, she merely rode on the euphoria that continued since the Dilgar War and was beginning to run down just before Jankowski's debacle.

When the war began, her image as a grandmother of the people continued to be cultivated and used to garner the public's support for the war. As the war wore on, that image became more and more a veneer, a mask, while she made decisions that aged her. No president should endure a desperate war and yet they were expected to meet the challenges. Abraham Lincoln aged drastically before becoming a walking skeleton. She had seen the shocking changes in the American president's face over the six years of his term. Franklin Delano Roosevelt died of the stresses that came with the office and with managing a world war.

Before the Rift, Levy had thought she would suffer a similar fate as the Minbari juggernaut thrust into the Earth Alliance mercilessly. They all had thought that the human race would end with their generation.

The Rift gave them a chance to resist. Maybe they would still lose the war but at least they would force the Minbari to fight much harder and longer to defeat humanity.

"We're still working on a right of passage through Centauri space," General Lefcourt was saying. "Our diplomats are working with ambassadors from Terra and Vulcan. We had thought to go through the League instead but we'd have to petition for passage from each of the government that we will pass through. It'd be much easier to go through one government."

"Don't forget the Narns," put in General Fontaine.

Lefcourt grimaced. The Narns were notoriously territorial, not to mention stubborn. "We're also working on that. Surprisingly enough, the Narn Regime's helping us to put the pressure on the Centauri."

Levy rolled her eyes. That wasn't such a surprise. Naturally, the Narns would hope that once the Centauri granted passage, the Minbari would punish the Republic. Also naturally, the Royal Court was smart enough to see that possibility.

General Franklin spoke up. "I'm not so sure about Operation Medea. It requires us to divert troops—soldiers that we really need to defend the colonies."

Lefcourt glared at Franklin. "The Andorians have promised soldiers for Medea! The Fleet can support them."

Franklin bristled. "GROPOS can handle it too! It's the colonies I'm—"

"That's enough," President Levy snapped. She sighed. It was an old refrain: first Lefcourt would advance the interests of the Fleet, and then Franklin would defend the interests of the GroundPounders. Or vice-versa. And then she had to step in to keep the peace. "You've made your objections, General Franklin. We'll examine the merits of the operation at a later time." Franklin glowered at Lefcourt but made no further comment. Levy sometimes thought that the political skill for sweeping disagreements under the rug came in handy. "General Fontaine," she continued, directing the Joint Chiefs' attention to the named general, "will give us an overview of the wars."

"We lost two more ships last week," Fontaine said without preamble, his expression bleak. "The Alamo and the Leonov were destroyed at New Parala. There were no survivors." The disgruntled murmur that greeted it was understandable. "However, their actions, along with that of the Vulcan ship Sochya, have also destroyed a Minbari warcruiser. The fleet we've sent into the Terran universe is now at Andoria and proceeding with the construction of a jumpgate in orbit around the gas giant Andor." Fontaine shifted slightly. "We have lost the colonies of Jericho, Deneb, Delphi and New London."

Lefcourt swore.

"I thought the Vulcans are helping New London resist the siege?" Franklin wondered aloud. "How did the Boneys get past them?"

Fontaine held up a data crystal and inserted it into a wall vidscreen. "This was recorded by the Vulcans and sent via subspace."

The video showed a broad valley with two distant cities, one in the foreground and the other just over the hilly horizon. Despite the damage wrought by Minbari beams, the valley still looked fertile and could be anywhere on Earth itself. The achingly Earth-like sky seemed peaceful. Then a bright flash of light appeared over the horizon, consuming the farther city.

The audience was squinted their eyes at the flash. Some of them recognized the flash for what it was, but distance had cast doubt on the identity of it. Just then, a small object rushed in a slant from the sky, trailing a contrail. The missile's path ended in the middle of the foreground city. A fiery flash obscured the city and a visible shockwave emanated from the city's site through the countryside, causing the camera to shake. The explosions quickly became fiery mushroom clouds.

The generals were stunned.

"Bastards!" swore Levy, slamming a fist onto her desk. "New London's only crime was trying to resist and survive, and those cold hearted bastards nuked them!"

Recovering from the shock, General Franklin shrugged and said, "Well, the colony seceded from Earth. It's not a problem anymore. That should teach the other colonies to stay in the Alliance."

The President gave him a withering look. Franklin looked down.

"If that was Mars…if Mars had seceded and the Minbari 'took care' of the problem, would we shrug and say what you just said?"

The GROPOS general shifted in his seat uncomfortably.

"Even though New London has politically left us, it's still part of the human family. Its loss has put us that much closer to extinction." She drew a trembling angry breath. "This madness has gone on long enough. I don't care if we're ready yet. I don't care if we're outnumbered, outgunned or out-teched. This stops and it stops NOW. If the Minbari want to commit genocide, then it is time we take the war back to them. I'm giving the green light on Operation Medea. I'm ordering all the new Delos ships to join it. To hell with the Senate! Starting right now, we fight back and we fight back hard!"

"But what about the Ark Project?" asked Lefcourt hesitantly.

"It will continue. Let the Senators scream about it. If they get in our way, too bad! Executive orders will go over their heads." Cold steel glinted in Elizabeth Levy's eyes. The knuckles on her trembling fists had gone white. "God help anybody who gets in our way. Mark my word; I'll have the fucking boneheads for this!"


	23. News of Terrina

_Gogolu: Thanks!_

_Worker72: Maybe. Soul Hunters would be more likely to appear than technomages. It is after, war. ;)_

_grayangle: Indeed._

_Bienvenido Canonizado: You're welcome. Captain Cain will play a large role in several future chapters._

_Lorelai Gilmore: Don't worry...the Vorlons are preparing themselves._

_SADDAMINSANE: Thank you. Levy was a peacetime president but I think she's proving herself as a wartime president too._

_Firewolfe: You're welcome. :)_

**

* * *

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**Orion 4**

**Earth Alliance Mining Colony**

Michael Garibaldi stumbled into a bar. He was already drunk but not too drunk to continue bar-hopping. He spotted his friend, Walker Smith, sitting at the bar counter. Walker, already drunk, was singing a moronic song that had recently become inexplicably popular on Earth.

"Oh, be a fine girl and kiss me right now! _Smack, smack, smack!_" Walker made annoying kissing sounds to accompany the song. "Oh, be a fine girl and kiss me right now! _Smack, smack, smack!_ Oh, be a—"

"I'll smack you if you don't shut the hell up!" roared Garibaldi.

Walker angrily stood up quickly and raised a fist, preparing to punch Garibaldi. He stopped, delightfully recognizing his friend. "Mike!"

Laughing, they hugged and slapped each other's back hard. Sitting on stools, Garibaldi called out, "Hey, barkeep!"

The bartender rolled his eyes when he saw who called for him. Garibaldi was already a familiar sight even though he immigrated fairly recently. He quickly finished shaking a tumbler and poured its contents into a glass for a female patron and came up to Garibaldi.

"Get me uuh…baijiu. Straight up."

The bartender and Walker winced. Baijiu was a particularly potent Chinese liquor that was about 80 to 120 proof. It had become a popular drink when it was found that sorghum grass grew much more easily on Orion 4 than wheat or rice. He took down the porcelain bottle of baijiu from the shelves behind the bar and poured it into a shot glass. The liquid had the appearance of vodka but the bartender's nose wrinkled at the smell. It was strong and reminded people of the barnyard with a sharp ammonia-like note.

Garibaldi downed the baijiu and held out his shot glass. The bartender pressed his lips in disapproval but he poured anyway. Business was business. At least until it becomes disruptive and needs to be ejected from the place. Finished, he left the white bottle on the counter and went back to business with other patrons.

Walker watched the glass' content vanish into Garibaldi's mouth. "Why are you doing this to yourself?"

"I'm a failure! I'm not good enough to handle any job. I have no business being alive." Garibaldi's eyes blazed in resentment. "You happy? Me, the Earther fallen so low! You feel good about that, don'cha?!"

Walker ignored the provocation. He recognized the self-pity and anger as symptoms of alcoholism. He leaned forward to rest his elbows on the bar counter, assuming his role as de facto counselor for his friend. "This isn't about me. Tell me what happened."

Garibaldi shrugged as if he didn't care about this stranger knowing about his life. He probably actually didn't care. "Five years ago, I was working security for the ice-mining operation on Europa. A real cesspool! Murders, theft, dust peddling, you name it! Half the command staff was on the take and the other half didn't give a damn! 'Cept for me. Ever try to uphold the law when nobody cares? After a few weeks, I started drinking hard just to get through the night. Then I met Frank Kemmer. He was a shuttle pilot on the Jovian moon run. A real decent guy. When the job got tough, I'd spend time with him and his family. That's when I first met Lianna, his daughter. Uncle Mike, she used to call me. With all the madness, it kept me sane—and sober—for a while."

His friend nodded. It was a common tale throughout the Earth Alliance colonies. Most people had few choices: adapt to the conditions, join 'em, go back to Earth or turn to drink or drugs. And now the Minbari were exacerbating the problems by distracting EarthForce from the task of law-keeping. "What happened?"

More baijiu went down the hatch. Disgust distorted Garibaldi's face. Disgust at the liquor's smell or at himself? Himself, more likely. "I was starting to make a dent in the rackets. I got under someone's skin. Word came down they were gonna try and take me out. I thought I could handle it. I was wrong! Instead of coming at me head-on, they rigged the shuttle pad. Frank was bringing in the last run of the day. Just as he touched down, they blew! You could see the fireball for a mile in every direction."

It was Walker's turn to show disgust on his face. Murder was bad but incompetence was worse. "That's a bad death."

"Yeah, I guess. They had it all figured. Pinned it on my negligence. Corps didn't want a scandal, so they hushed it up and blackballed me out of the Solar System. I moved around from lousy job to lousy job. Fortune City, Cestus, here. But none of that was as bad as telling Frank's family what had happened. Lianna didn't even cry. She just died inside." Garibaldi morosely poured the baijiu. "And now here I am. Looking for a job but not doing a very good job at that, as you can see."

Walker sighed. In the few interactions he had with Garibaldi, he saw that he was a good man, even a friend. He hated seeing the conditions of the damned human race crush people like him. "You picked a great time for this, Michael." He was referring to the Minbari War.

"Don't. Don't you dare get self-righteous on me. I don't want your pity! I'm tired of life demanding responsibilities from me! Booze is my own little private act of rebellion. So there!"

That caused Walker to stand up and raise his hands in self-defense. "If you wanted to hurt yourself this way, go ahead. There's a cleaner and faster way of doing it. Go fight the Minbari and die. Everyone's doing it."

"And you're not?"

Grinning, he said, "I'm a boxer, not a soldier. Killing ain't for me, Mike."

Garibaldi scoffed. It was then that they noticed other people in the bar crowding around a vidscreen hung high above the bar counter. "Hey, what's goin' on over there?"

They turned to see what was attracting all the attention. On the vidscreen, an ISN reporter was saying, _"…early estimates, millions are dead. The planet is in ruins…"_ ISN showed video records of the smoldering ruins of what was once a large city. Dirty dark clouds drifted in the tainted blue sky. Garibaldi hissed in horror at the image. "Jeez, is that Earth?"

Another patron scowled up at the vidscreen. "Goddamn Boneheads whacked us!"

"…_The Earth colony of New London has been wiped out in Minbari nuclear fire. Nothing lives in what was once humanity's first extrasolar colony…"_

The bartender was startled. "Did they say 'nuclear'?"

The female patron stood from her stool. She was trembling with anger. "Damn them! Nukes! They're gonna nuke us all!" She turned her blazing eyes at the bartender. "Hey, you! Where's the recruiting station?"

Garibaldi, now mostly sobered by an adrenaline rush caused by the news, watched as the woman stepped out of the bar. He imagined Minbari warcruisers sweeping into the Sol System. He imagined nuclear detonations mushrooming over every colony and city in the system, wiping out what little remained of the Garibaldi family on Mars. He imagined little Lianna Kemmer playing in a playground until everything, including her, was vaporized by the intense white heat of a nuclear bomb.

He slammed his shot glass down on the bar counter, spilling the mostly untouched baijiu. "You know, Walker, I might just take up your suggestion."

His friend nodded grimly.

**Kronstadt, St. Petersburg**

**Russian Consortium, Earth Alliance**

Susan Ivanova raised her eyes to the image of holy mother and child. The gilded mural of the enthroned Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus gazed down upon the congregated cadets in the Naval Cathedral from high above the altar. Once, the Neo-Byzantine cathedral hosted services for personnel of the Russian Imperial Navy and for the later Russian Federation Navy. Now it performed its services as a museum and a place of graduations for the Russian Consortium's Kronstadt Military School.

Mary seemed to look straight back at Susan with her typically black Byzantine bug eyes. The eyes seemed to contain anxiety and sadness and the slightly puckered lips seem to be a prelude to tears of a mother who will eventually give up her child for the sins of the world.

Though Cadet Ivanova was Jewish, she often came to sit in a pew and gaze up at the icon. It reminded her so much of her own mother, Sophie. Not the appearance, per se, but the inherent emotions. All love is unrequited, she thought. Mary loved her son but the world's sins made that love unrequited and eventually killed him. Sophie certainly suffered for her family, especially for her daughter. The drugs that PsiCorps pumped into her soon killed her, making her love unrequited. In her loneliness, Susan became close with her brother Ganya, as close as they could be without their mother's loving telepathy. The Minbari killed him, depriving Susan of his love. The anguish of Sophie and Ganya dying caused the father Andrei to lose himself in his grief, thereby depriving her of much needed love and support.

Susan gently fingered the single earring in her ear. The sins of the world have made all love unrequited.

She shook herself out of her thoughts. General Orlov was at this moment concluding his graduation speech. Susan permitted herself a small smile. After months of accelerated courses and training, she would finally enter EarthForce and avenge Ganya's death. And perhaps dying tragically in the attempt. She always knew she'd have a typically Russian ending.

"…I pronounce this class…graduated!" Orlov finally announced.

Susan filed out of the cathedral into the cool sunny day amid the crowd of excited cadets who proceeded to throw their white cadet's caps up high in the air. She kept her cap on her short hair. Families congratulated the graduates. Many were happy, but much of the happiness was underwritten by worry and anxiety. All knew the fate of military graduates in times of war.

Susan looked up at the iron statue of Peter the Great standing in the middle of the large town square in front of the Naval Cathedral. Russia was her family.

"Suzotchka!"

She turned at the voice and brightened in recognition. "Rabbi Koslov!"

The rabbi frowned in feigned concern. "So formal? You used to call me Uncle Yossel. This school has changed you."

She laughed off the concern. It was a little humorous ritual between the two relatives. "I can't believe you're here!"

"What? And miss my niece's graduation?"

Susan laughed in gratitude and hugged him. Yossel Koslov wasn't really her uncle but he was such a close family friend that he might as well be one. She looked around at the milling cadets and their families. "And Papa?"

"He's not here," Koslov replied, shifting uneasily on his feet.

A few moments of strained silence passed. Koslov broke it. "So what're you gonna do now that you're done with school? Enter the Consortium service for Mother Russia?"

"No, Uncle Yossel. I'm going to cross-commission a position in EarthForce."

Koslov stared at his niece, his face unreadable. Finally: "Suzotchka, you're the last of the Ivanov family. Your family has survived the centuries. Vyacheslav Vasilievich Ivanov at Stalingrad during the Great Patriotic War. Sergei Borisovich Ivanov becoming President of the Federation after Vladimir Putin. The Minbari do not give many chances of survival. Staying in Russia gives a chance that the family will continue. Besides…" Koslov gazed into Susan's eyes. "Your father will miss you terribly."

Susan looked down at her crisp uniform, pretending to smooth the creases by pulling the tunic's hem down as she fought to control the urge to cry. Her knuckles whitened. Andrei wasn't a loving man. Even so, she felt that he loved her in his own way. Until her mother began the damned PsiCorps treatments. When Mama became incapable of loving Susan, she needed Papa. He wasn't there for her. When Sophie took her life and Ganya died, Andrei still couldn't give love to her. That was why she left. And Papa never forgave her for it as if she was the one who'd abandoned him!

All her thoughts occurred in a flash. But she wasn't ready to give voice to them, not even to dear Uncle Yossel. "Papa will miss me? He hasn't even shown up for my graduation!"

"Susan, you know how he feels about the military," he began lamely.

They noticed that many people have begun to walk more briskly, even run. Susan reached out to a cadet who was running past. "Hey, Viktor, what's happening?"

"It's New London! The Boneys nuked it!"

Susan and Koslov shared a look of shocked horror. Until now, nukes had only been used in space combat. Nuclear planetary strikes belonged to the stories and rumors about the Romulans fighting the other Earth and its allies. That the Minbari have begun to do the same meant that the war has become a genocide. And they were coming straight to Earth.

They also knew that coming at the heels of this news would be the call to report for service in EarthForce. That was why many of the cadets were running for the barracks.

"I…" Susan was at a loss for words.

Rabbi Koslov nodded in acceptance. "Go. May God the Most High guide and protect you."

She hugged him tightly before tearing herself away and running with the other cadets.

**Arisia 3**

**Earth Alliance Mining Colony**

Arisia 3 was a bleak, violent and uninhabitable world, orbiting an unremarkable F5 star on the far edge of the Earth Alliance. Two-thirds the size of Earth with three times the density, the small planet, with its 2-G gravity, its poisonous radioactive atmosphere, the scorching winds, and high degree of tectonic and volcanic activity, was not a natural place for humans. It might have been simply dismissed as a tiny, forgettable piece of hell if it wasn't for the result of a nearby supernova blasting and irradiating, but not vaporizing, the planet unknown ages ago. This event had made Arisia 3 rich in the most valuable substance in the known galaxy: Quantium-40, the stuff that made jumpgates and therefore space travel possible.

Situated on a high plateau at the edge of the planet's violent atmosphere, a small domed city stood as a beacon of necessity. Inside one of the buildings within the domes, a twenty years-old boy chased his younger brother into their father's office. The young teenager was laughing while the older brother was noticeably unhappy.

"Children!" Normally, Aidan Cole would like to be interrupted by his children at work, but this wasn't the right time. The family company, Cole Mining, was struggling and working overtime to fulfill the wartime needs of Quantium-40.

"But Father," whined the older child. "Willie told everyone at school that I'm a—I'm a…." His beardless face reddened in embarrassment.

"Not my fault that you're a virgin, Marcus!" Willie glared in annoyance at his brother. "My name's William, not Willie!"

"You're a willie, Willie!"

Aidan struggled to keep himself from smiling in amusement. "Boys, boys, behave. I have work to do. Mother wants you to be at dinner now."

As growing boys would, Marcus and William ran out, now totally focused on food.

/\

Dinner was interrupted by an announcement on the StellarCom. Mother got up from the table to attend to it, hoping that Marcus and Willie wouldn't immediately argue at the table.

"Computer, record for later."

"_Unable to comply. This message is to be viewed upon reception."_

Holly Cole tensed. That could only mean an official message from Earth Central. Earth had always a high-handed way of handling its colonies and that perception have increased significantly in the war. What new scheme has Earth Central cooked up for Arisia and for Cole Mining?

"Play," she ordered.

"_Will you accept a print out first?"_

Icy fear spiked up her spine. She'd heard of this. She glanced over her shoulder at Marcus who had recently turned 20. "Yes."

The computer printed a chart underneath the vidscreen. It contained a table of seemingly random numbers with the vertical columns listed under the months of the Earth year and the horizontal rows listed beside the thirty-one days of the month. The chart in Holly's hand confirmed her fearful suspicion of the announcement. Taking a deep breath, she turned around. "Boys."

Marcus and Willie looked up from their dinner. They appeared innocent and ready to accept whatever their mother had to say. The knuckles on Holly's free hand whitened. "We need to watch this."

Once she was seated at the table, she ordered the computer to play the StellarCom message.

The vidscreen showed the ISN logo which was laid over the image of Earth with her Moon orbiting around unrealistically fast. ISN's signature background music played. The music rose to a crescendo as the view rushed down to the planet past clouds, revealing a huge glass dome and then through the dome until it paused in front of the Palace of Nations in EarthDome at Geneva, Switzerland. The words 'Planetary Lottery' were overlaid onto the palace facade. The view then went past the words through the opening main doors of the Alliance Senate's headquarters, down opulent corridors until it came into a crowded conference room.

It was filled to the brim with reporters, hovering cameras, government officials and other observers. Before the crowd were two large transparent containers, one a horizontal cylinder, the other a sphere. A female senator pressed a button, activating the blower within the cylinder which set the balls tumbling and mixing. The balls had numbers on them.

Holly recognized the senator as a member of the Senate Selective Service Committee. She laid a hand over Marcus' arm. It was at this point that Marcus understood what was happening. The mother could feel the tension in her son's arm.

Along the bottom of the cylinder were five tiny transparent boxes. At a computer-ordained time, each of the boxes opened in sequence, permitting the entry of one numbered ball at a time.

213. Another ball was dropped into its display box: 008. Another: 420. 317. 057.

Holly anxiously looked at the printout chart. Her eyes were naturally drawn to the number that would represent Marcus' birthday: March 9. The number code was 317. She shut her eyes.

"Mother, they're not finished."

Marcus was right. They still had yet to get a number from the sphere. The smaller sphere would contain numbers representing the birth years. The years would be limited to those that would give birth to people who were 18 to 30 years old today. The female senator pressed a button which set the balls tumbling and jumping within the sphere. After a time, the balls stopped tumbling and a pillar rose from the bottom of the sphere, holding up a ball. Once the ball was in its display box, the number was read out. 26.

Holly and William looked at Marcus who now looked pale. That was his birth year: 2226.

Marcus Cole has just been drafted into EarthForce.

-/\-

The arrival of a ship at the Arisia Mining Colony was usually an eagerly anticipated event. Ships from Earth, other parts of the Solar System, ships from other Earth colonies, and even the occasional ship from Vreetan, Narn and the Drazi homeworld brought a welcome infusion of mail, fresh supplies, news and gossip along with money to be paid for Quantium-40, which translated into salaries, wages, and bonuses.

But Aidan now dreaded the next ship on the way to Earth. By law, he would be required to put his son Marcus on it for the voyage to Earth Central. Otherwise, his son would face jail, a fine and accusations of disloyalty.

Marcus didn't want to go. He often talked of adventures among the stars, even of becoming a starship pilot. It was clear that the mining business wasn't for him. This draft certainly wasn't what Marcus meant.

The family had seen the news of Terrina. The Boneheads' escalation of the war meant the chance of any soldier's survival has dropped even lower than zero. If Marcus went, Aidan would all too likely experience the horror of having outlived an offspring.

Aidan's secretary buzzed him. _"Sir, a ship has come into the system."_ He took a deep breath. Now it was time to send his son off. Odd…the secretary sounded excited. _"It's the Vulcans!"_

He straightened up in surprise. Though Arisia was on the far edge of Earth space, they managed to hear about the pointy-eared aliens and their legendary ships. The arrival of a Vulcan ship would excite more interest than usual. Excitedly, Aidan pressed the intercom button. "Get my wife!" The boys would be in school at this time and their teachers would get the same idea once they got news of this.

He watched the monitors in his office as the newly arrived Vulcan ship slowly maneuvered for docking with the revolving Orbital Refinery Platform's cargo loading bay. The hull appeared to be either rustic red or brownish-purple depending on where the light fell on it. It had a ring set perpendicularly inside another ring and it was glowing blue so it had to be the ship's engine. The shape of the body in front of the dual ring suggested an arrowhead. The way the ship was built suggested that it was a military craft. Overall, it was graceful-looking yet still managed to convey a sense of muscular power.

Aidan half-smiled wryly. That was probably what EarthForce soldiers thought as they died fighting Minbari warships.

The office door opened to admit Holly. She watched the Vulcan ship in the monitors for a while before saying with a puzzled expression, "What could they want with us?"

Her husband shrugged. "They're on a tour of class 4 planets?"

Holly scoffed. Arisia 3 wasn't a beautiful planet by any standard. Lots of clashing reds and browns with constant violent storms just like most other quantium-rich worlds. "We only have Q-40 to offer. They must want it."

"Then it's business for us." At this moment, the ship's inner ring inclined until it was completely horizontal and submerged inside the outer ring. Then part of the ship's hull that jutted out into the middle of dual ring space detached from the rest of the ship. Aidan and Holly were amazed. It was actually a large shuttlecraft. Who would park a shuttle on the outside of the mothership instead of the inside?

The Vulcans apparently.

The oversized shuttle moved down toward the planet's surface and straight to the Arisia mining colony. Holly's eyes brightened and turned to her husband. "Aidan, I have an idea."

-/\-

Aidan's secretary buzzed him again to announce the arrival of two Vulcans. He rose from the seat at his desk and stood in front of the desk. It would do well to be courteous to the first Vulcans on Arisia 3. If this went well, Cole Mining might receive regular visits from them in the future.

The visitors were a tall thin man and a delicate-looking small woman with black severe haircuts. They appeared human except for the slight greenish tint in the skin and for the pointed ears. Their dark puce-colored uniforms were identical except for the higher purple collar on the woman's neck. They featured a jacket and trouser combination that consisted of a reflective rubber-seeming material and closed at the right. A dark grey wedge-shaped accent ran under the purple collar from the left shoulder across the chest. A belt with an elaborate buckle completed the ensemble.

The uniforms were definitely not what EarthForce would have considered, Aidan thought. As the Vulcans approached, the light glinted on a tiny pin on the left side of their collars. Symbols of rank? The woman spoke first.

"I am Captain Solis and this is Sub-commander Muroc. I believe we have a transaction to complete, Mr. Cole?"

Aidan smiled to cover his small startle. They were straight to the point. No wasting time on the niceties of small talk. He took out the relevant forms and showed the amount of payment required for the Q-40. He was surprised and slightly disappointed to see that neither Solis nor Muroc disputed the price. Either the Vulcans didn't have a commercial sense, were incredibly wealthy or plain didn't care. Aidan sometimes enjoyed the haggling that merchants engaged in even though he often moaned and wailed over the results afterwards.

Solis picked up the pen laid out on the desk for signatures, but Aidan held up a finger. "I'm curious. You don't use jump technology so why the Quantium-40 for yourselves?"

Solis exchanged a glance with her sub-commander. "It is for research."

Aidan nodded sagely. It could only be the rumored Project Quantum Drill. Arisia was close to the Narn-Drazi border so it would be a short voyage over to Centauri space. "It's the project at the Marigol System, isn't it?"

The two Vulcans exchanged a silent message again. "How did you obtain knowledge of this?

I didn't—you've just confirmed it, thought Aidan. He couldn't say that aloud. He still needed the Vulcans' business. The human shrugged casually. "Wherever you Vulcans go, you're sure to be noticed and news travel fast on the spacelanes."

Solis quirked an eyebrow. "It would seem that the proclivity of gossip is not limited to our universe."

"Arisia 3 is a remote outpost. For you, I'll make sure that as many gossip lines end here as possible."

The Vulcan woman inclined her head in gratitude. "That would be prudent."

"Oh…one more thing, if you please, Captain." Aidan looked carefully at Solis and Muroc individually. This was it. "My son Marcus. He has always wanted to travel." Aidan chuckled regretfully. "He hates living in a mining colony. He would tell his brother all about the adventures he would have when he grows up."

Muroc looked at his captain, realizing what the human was proposing. Solis, for her part, expressionlessly cocked her head slightly to the side as if she was a cat studying Aidan. That wasn't a comfortable image. "I fail to see the relevance to the present transaction."

"Well, I thought that your arrival is an opportunity for him to realize his dreams."

"We, however, are not the opportunity you were looking for, Mr. Cole. As you are clearly aware, we are part of a military endeavor. Children or indeed unauthorized civilians are not permitted."

Aidan couldn't help continuing to try and reach Solis. His son's life was likely on the line here. He didn't care how treacherous that sounded but he felt his children deserved better than this war—a war that Marcus was clearly unwilling to get involved in. "But you could provide transport to your universe?"

"Doubtful. Our research is vital."

Doubtful, but not impossible, observed Aidan. He bit the inside of his lower lip. "All right." He bent over the transaction papers, crossed out some numbers and scribbled in a new price. When he showed it to the Vulcans, their slanted eyebrows rose.

"Generous," commented Solis.

Aidan had to resist wincing when he wrote the new numbers. It was half the price for the Q-40. It meant that any salary for the workers not covered by the payment, he'd have to pay out of his own pocket. Then there's the money he'd still need to lend his son for this trip. He mentally upbraided himself. Draft-dodging. He couldn't lie to himself in spite of deceiving the Vulcans. No, he wasn't deceiving them. He was telling the truth and only neglected to inform them of the family's desire to keep Marcus out of the draft. If the Vulcans were caught, they wouldn't be punished for their ignorance. It was selfish, he knew, but Marcus was worth it and more.

Though she didn't show it on her face, it was clear that the Vulcan captain was wavering.

Sub-commander Muroc said, "Captain, we still have not brought our reports to Starfleet Command and the High Command. Doing so at this time will afford us the opportunity to update ourselves as to the research done at the Science Directorate."

Solis nodded. "Very well."

Aidan could have kissed Muroc and Solis.

**Dulisian System **

**Frontier of Coalition Space**

A human convoy cruised under the orange light of the sun. There were 16 Boomer Y- and J-class freighters in the convoy, escorted by a Bison-class starship with its half-saucer and three triangular Neptune-class ships. A barren-looking planet provided a backdrop for the convoy. Soon, another Starfleet vessel dropped out of warp and joined the convoy. The orange flaring sun revealed the name emblazoned on the newcomer's hull to be Endeavour NX-06.

This arrival was observed on one of the Boomer freighters. Rianna Mayweather grunted in approval of the extra protection it represented. She turned away from the tiny porthole to her cooking and clucked over the steaming pots. The smell wasn't exactly what she was used to, but that was a fact of the Space Boomer existence. The Kriosian foodstuff that they had bought at Selka could be compared to a blend of food from Morocco and India but Rianna did her best to make them taste more like home. She stirred a wooden spoon in a stew pot and tasted a sample. It also didn't taste exactly the way she'd like, but it would do. Grunting in satisfaction, she pressed a button on a wall panel.

"Boys, dinner's ready!"

She had just finished setting the table when Charlie Nichols and Juan Rodriquez arrived.

"Where's Paul?" Rianna rarely liked eating without her son.

Charlie sat at the table, eyeing the food greedily. "Oh, he's busy talking with the Endeavour."

The edges of Juan's blue eyes crinkled in amusement. "And he's busy with Nora."

Rianna harrumphed. She didn't think highly of men who allowed themselves to fall under the spells of a pretty woman. Of course, that opinion didn't extend to her own late husband. She ladled the stew into the men's bowls.

Juan peered at the stew closely. "Is this alien soul food?"

An edge of Rianna's lips curled in a half-smile, amused by Juan's question. "Watch your mouth, boy. I'm the chief engineer on this ship and you're under me." For good-natured spite, she ladled some more thick stew into his bowl. "Eat up. Be glad you're not starving in the Post-Atomic Horror."

Charlie laughed as he spooned some of the food into his mouth heartily. "It's a good thing the engines always need an extra engineer. Else, you'd be pushed out an airlock, Juan."

Rianna pretended she didn't hear the jibe as she ate. It was true: the impulse and warp engines on the J-class Horizon were primitive when compared with the pristine drives used by Starfleet. The convoy was now sedately cruising through the system while they exchange supplies with the Boomer outpost on Dulisian IV, and reports with the Endeavour. So she and Juan were glad of the break this stopover permitted them despite the unusually strong geomagnetic storm being thrown out by the Dulisian sun.

Juan dramatically pretended to laugh at the ship pilot's comment. "It's a good thing the Endeavour came. We're a big convoy but dilithium is a damn mighty attractive commodity."

Rianna nodded her agreement. As far as she knew, all warp travel that used matter-antimatter reactors depended on dilithium crystals and therefore immensely profitable in trade. As such, the Boomer convoy carried a huge 'rob me!' sign for all the undesirables of the galaxy to read. "It's a good thing the Kriosians let us trade at Selka."

Both boys nodded and mumbled their agreement while food slowly but steadily disappeared from their bowls. "Why're they leaving their planets?" wondered Charlie aloud, referring to the Kriosians.

Lately, the Kriosian Sovereign Guard had been steadily closing bases and withdrawing from some of the planets bordering Vulcan and Coridan space. The Guards still held the garrison at Selka due to the valuable dilithium mines but its strength had been steadily reduced over the years. Normally, the mines of Selka would be limited to Kriosians but their ruler, First Monarch Kaitaama, seemed to have a soft spot for humans. That was one of the few lights of the modern Kriosian civilization.

The Kriosian Empire was dying.

It was a colossal empire by the standards of the times, stretching across dozens of worlds. Comparable to the Centauri Republic, its dynasty was renowned on hundreds of worlds. Its fall was colossal, too—and a long one, for it had a long way to go. It had been falling for centuries and no one noticed because the brilliant empire seemed so strong. That it was in a state of irremediable decay and decline was noticed only recently and vultures were circling Krios Prime. One of them was the Klingon Empire. So Kaitaama, upon becoming First Monarch in 2152, resolved to strengthen the empire's borders with the Klingon Empire in the face of rising tensions. The Kriosian Sovereign Dynasty was forced to allow its outer planets to fall away into the hands of local independent petty rulers who nominally acknowledged Krios as their overlord. It only remained that a star nation would fill the vacuum left in the wake of that shrinking empire and several candidates would step forward for the role soon.

Of all this, Rianna was only dimly aware. Rianna thought that it was inevitable that the final lash of the dying Kriosian Empire would involve the Klingons and their neighboring worlds. She hoped that the Coalition would resolve the Romulan War in time for this. "Countries are like people: they are born, they grow, mature, get old and die." Self-consciously, she touched her still black hair pulled back and bound by an embroidered red bandana. "The Kriosians are getting old."

Juan shook his head as he glanced at the stars out the tiny porthole. "Seems like rumors of war is everywhere. The Romulans, the Minbari, the Ersalrope War, the Kriosians and the Klingons, disorder on Tandar Prime and Coridan, piracy everywhere."

"Yeah," put in Charlie, munching as he talked. Rianna frowned in disapproval of this manner, but said nothing. "Sure hope that Coridan will be safe soon for us to trade for dilithium. I heard that Marshal Kurvi Tasch's gonna help the Coridan Chancellor with that. I heard that the Coridans are hiring alien mercenaries from the other side of their space for this."

For the first time, Juan's usually jovial face showed worry. "Other Boomer ships are thinking of giving up on the trade with Coridan. There's stories of those mercenaries taking over border guard duties." He shook his head. "It's no good getting involved in another potential conflict when we have the birdies to worry about."

Paul Mayweather came into the dining room.

Rianna pursed her lips at her son's tardiness. "Get your plate. Dinner's getting cold."

Her son knew Rianna enough to note her disapproval of his nearly missing dinner. He ignored it, knowing that she wouldn't hold a grudge about that. Paul held up a data rod, causing his mother to frown. Before she could say anything, he quickly inserted the rod into a data port beneath a viewscreen on a wall. While the computer downloaded the rod's data, he quickly ladled Rianna's food into his bowl and sat at the table.

"Paul, I thought we'd have a nice dinner together. Watching TV is not conducive to our family time."

"Mama, you know I don't have time for anything except taking care of the Horizon and sleeping. It's the only free time we have for this."

Charlie and Juan silently focused on their dinner while Rianna narrowed her eyes at her son. She couldn't do anything about Paul outside of ship business because he was an adult. She noticed Paul's use of the word 'we' so this had to be for all of them. She sighed as she mentally conceded Paul's point. Of course, she wouldn't give voice to the concession. No man, including her son, needed to know this. "Is this about Starfleet's proposal for Dulisian IV?"

Paul mentally judged his mother's humanized Kriosian food and accepted its taste. "About making the outpost a starbase?" The computer beeped its readiness to display the data rod's content. He shrugged. "That would make Boomers a primary target for the birdies. Most of us won't go for it. No, Mama, it's not about that. Watch. It's from Earth."

The viewscreen activated and show total blackness. Suddenly, a supernova seemed to explode and threw flaming pieces of the dying star. Out of the flaring nova's center came the title 'TNN: Terran Network News' and an unseen announcer spoke over the bumper and fanfare.

"_We interrupt our regular evening schedule to bring you the following special program."_

The legend 'Hypertext Captioned' appeared at the bottom of the screen while the TNN logo grew and became a rotating cube as dates in history floated past in various directions from the still burning supernova behind the logo.

"_July twelfth, twenty-one-fifty-seven…"_ As the present date appeared in the foreground, a TNN news set slowly replaced the vista of the flaring supernova. The set included a news desk set in a room with a window that afforded a 180-degree view of the San Francisco Bay behind the news anchorperson. It was clearly evening in that city. _"…and the Terran Network News presents 'The Earth Alliance' with your host, Gannet Brooks, reporting live from the TNN News Center in San Francisco."_

"Isn't that Travis' girlfriend?" wondered Juan aloud. Paul shushed him.

The camera slowly pulled in on the rosy-cheeked pretty woman with auburn hair. The Golden Gate Bridge was visible in the darkening dusk and night lights activated on it through the window behind her. _"Good evening. I'm Gannet Brooks. While we have been recovering from the Post-Atomic Horror with generous Vulcan help, we have established colonies and outposts on over a dozen worlds in 13 star systems, a parallel Earth in another universe built its own interstellar empire. It has served as a showpiece of what we would have become without the benefits of such allies as the Vulcans and Denobulans, and of the Coalition of Planets."_ Gannet turned to face another camera. _"At the same time, the Earth Alliance has proven an opportunity to compare the Romulan War with the Minbari War. Since the Rift First Contact on September 30, 2156, we have been allied with this parallel Earth. This alliance has brought joys in the form of friendship and sorrows in the form of such battles as Signet Run."_

At that, Rianna laid her hand on top of Paul's hand, squeezing it. She was glad that Paul got out of Signet before it became such a disastrous rout. She hoped that it would be the last time Paul ever got into that dangerous universe.

Gannet returned her view to the first camera. _"Another sorrow has taken place to emphasize the importance of our alliance with the EA."_

While Gannet spoke, the view faded to show the visage of a broad valley with two distant cities, one in the foreground and the other just over the hilly horizon. Despite the obvious environmental damage wrought by orbital bombardment, the valley still looked fertile and could be anywhere on Earth itself. The Earth-like blue sky seemed peaceful with a small fleet of cottony clouds sailing sedately through it.

"_What you are seeing is the Elantira Valley near Lake Ophiucho on the Earth Alliance colony of New London, recently renamed Terrina."_

A bright flash of light appeared over the horizon, consuming the farther city. Then, a small object, clearly a missile, fell in a slant from the sky, trailing a contrail. The missile's path ended in the middle of the foreground city. A fiery flash obscured the city and a visible shockwave emanated from the city's site through the countryside, causing the camera to shake. The explosions quickly became fiery mushroom clouds.

"_A terrible nuclear massacre by the Minbari has removed yet another planet from the list of colonies held by our allies. United Earth President Christopher Thorpe called today a day of infamy that brought back the specter of both Earths' Third World War in its worse excesses. We turn now to Bernie Mack, our EarthDome correspondent."_

The viewscreen now showed the Terrian valley as it appeared after the nuclear attack. The nuclear detonation at the foreground city came to look like a dust storm with a column of sandy-colored smoke slanting away in a wind's direction. Far from the city's site, plants seemed to have been scoured by a mighty wind, many of the trees have been toppled by the same wind, and no animal life appeared to stir. Rianna Mayweather's face tightened in angry horror. She had seen similar footages of the planets similarly bombed by the Romulans. _"There, Gannet!"_ shouted an excited voice.

"_Ye—"_

"_God! Incredible! This is one of the many thick columns of smoke all over the planet. The whole place's burning." _

Gannet seemed to squint at the footage being relayed by Bernie. _"Um, Bernie? Preliminary report coming in now from EarthForce Central, Gannet…ah, they don't know what to make of the Minbari decision to nuke a whole planet, either."_

"_Will you look at that! Blackened areas where cities should be. It's as if somehow poured black glass over part the valley!"_ The camera obligingly closed in onto the site of the valley city as the wind slowly blew away the 'dust storm.'_ "The Romulans have done it to us, but our colonies were small and the nuked planets are still habitable. But this…. Terrina has to be totally radioactive. And the Minbari are keeping a few of their warships in orbit, as you can see over there."_

Gannet pressed a hand to her earpiece, listening to an update. _"Starfleet Command is saying this has not been a universal tactic in the Minbari military so far. I repeat, ladies and gentlemen. What you are seeing on the screen, the aftermath of a nuclear strike, is not a standard Minbari tactic."_

"_Yet. Now they've crossed the line, what's to stop the Minbari military caste from adopting the tactic?"_

"_You're right. Totally unexpected."_

"_Down there on that meadow, there's a squad of the colony's militia. The officer with them is trying to…but they're just milling around in complete confusion, just like the civilians. And, I suppose, a bit of panic."_

Rianna thought this would make the Starfleet-EarthForce alliance closer than before. As it is, now her people's fate would be irretrievably tied with that of the Earth Alliance. She wondered if that was wise.

The Horizon's intercom system whistled for attention. _"Paul! Nora to Paul."_

While Rianna would have preferred that they eat their dinner in family peace without watching this TNN report, she had to admit she was getting entranced by the news. But ship business was ship business. Her son, Paul Mayweather, quickly stood and slapped the intercom button.

"What is it, Nora?"

"_Endeavour reports they have detected six warp signatures on intercept vector. They will be in-system in about five minutes."_

"Who's they?"

"_Unknown. They can't get a lock on them."_

Paul exchanged a meaningful look with his mother and the other men. Most such approaches are often accompanied by forewarnings to put the convoy at ease. It could only mean one thing: pirates.

Right away, Paul, Charlie and Juan ran off out of the dining room. With a vexed sigh, Rianna began to clean up the table with a sigh while the news of Terrina's bombing continued.

**UES Endeavour NX-06**

**Dulisian System**

**On Boomer escort duty**

"Can you see them at all, Mr. Zhou?"

The Chinese science officer looked into his telescoping viewer. He could see the ultraviolet version of the fabric of space stretching out everywhere beyond the flaring Dulisian sun, undulating like a thrown bed sheet due to the geomagnetic storm emanating from the sun. At six places, it looked as if someone pinched the bottom of the sheet and pulled it down a bit. Within the distortions were tiny bright ultraviolet blobs representing warp fields. Normally, the science viewer would tell him details of the warp fields' make up and their signatures as pertaining to the makers' identity. It didn't. That was likely due to the solar storm which was affecting subspace sensors. Zhou toggled the viewer's control and the view changed to that of a tactical schematic of the Dulisian System and its surrounding void against a beige background. Graphs, scales and numbers scrolled across the screen as a blue dot pulsated to indicate the Endeavour's location in the system. Smaller blue dots near the Endeavour represented the 4 other starships and the Boomer fleet. The pulsing intensity of the blue color indicated power levels while lines occasionally shot out between the ships and a tiny white star on one of the planets. Clearly, subspace communications was increasing between them.

Zhou toggled a control a little more and he could see the white pulsing dots of the 6 warp signatures. Still no reading on its identity. A blue line extended from the dots through the system and the cluster of human ships. He stood from the science viewer.

"No, sir. It's this storm. It's affecting sensors. They're still on an intercept course with us." Zhou wondered what Captain Margie would decide.

Captain Marjorie 'Margie' Black was wondering the same thing. She wondered what her father, Admiral Hannibal Black, would do in this kind of situation. The truth was that she didn't know. No one in Starfleet had ever fought a war like this before the Romulans came. She touched her tightly coifed bun and decided to follow only what she personally knew.

"Go to Tactical Alert, all ships."

The lights on the Endeavour's bridge dimmed so that the crew could see their panels better. Zhou could see the blue dots in his science viewer intensify in brightness as the human ships powered up their defenses. As he recalled, the Boomers only had plasma and laser cannons while the starships had phased laser cannons, photonic torpedoes and hull polarizers. If the unknowns were hostile, he'd hate to see them target the terribly vulnerable Boomers.

Captain Black watched as the Boomer freighters slowly spread out in a defensive posture. There were 16 ships in that convoy, most of which were carrying dilithium crystals. The crystals were destined for Allied shipyards in Earth, Andorian and Tellarite space. Whoever the unknowns were, she must not let them get their hands on the priceless cargo.

Freighters, by their nature, cannot fight warships. What armaments the Boomers had were used against raiders and pirates, and that was the limit of their military capabilities. It would be safer to go meet the unknowns rather than wait and risk the freighters and their dilithium cargo. Margie nodded at her communications officer. "Sammy, tell the Republic to stay with the Boomers. Farragut, Soyuz and Valiant are with me."

Sammy hesitated slightly before following the captain's order. He didn't feel too good about leaving the Boomers alone. Then again, he wouldn't know how to be a captain yet. "Captain Jennings signals agreement."

Margie nodded her acknowledgement. She was confident that the Republic's captain was up to the task of safeguarding the freighters. Jennings had done it all the way to Selka and back. "Tactical on main viewer," she ordered.

The main viewscreen now showed what Zhou had seen in his science viewer. The six warp signatures were now passing the fifth planet's orbit. The convoy was at the fourth planet's orbit.

"Plot an intercept course at maximum impulse."

Soon, a red line extended from the Endeavour to cross the unknowns' blue course line near the L2 point 1.5 million miles beyond the dark side of Dulisian IV. That decided it.

"Inform the Neptunes," said Margie, referring to the Farragut, Soyuz and Valiant. "Take us there."

The small triangular starships oriented themselves alongside the Endeavour and they moved off at impulse together, leaving the Boomers alone with the Republic taking the place of the departed starships.

-/\-

The tactical display on the main viewer flickered.

Margie frowned. It was the solar storm again. It was getting more and more inconvenient the farther they went beyond Dulisian IV's protective magnetic field. The flicker came again and again with increasing frequency proportionally with the increasing distance from the planet. It was as if the Endeavour was entering a turbulent nebula.

The captain glared at the now frequent flicker in the view screen. The flicker then became static with only rare bits of clarity breaking through. The starships were almost blind. Extremely dangerous in a potentially hostile situation. At least the viewscreen wasn't completely useless, thought the crew would have to squint and closely watch for anything in the bits of clarity showing through the static.

"Order the Neptunes to move in a defensive posture with us."

When the estimated time of intercept came, there was still nothing onscreen. Margie felt it was all very anticlimactic. "Mr. Zhou, are you sure the warp signatures are not sensor ghosts?"

Doubt came onto the science officer's face. "There had to be. Warp distortions are too strong to be ghosts."

Through the static, Margie thought she could see a bright green star shining. She stood up in alarm. She had only moments to see an outline of a familiar vessel behind the approaching green star, and to hear her helmsman curse as he did an evasive maneuver without orders.

An explosion rocked the Endeavour. Margie fell off her feet and crashed into her command chair, groaning with pain.

She could hear the curses of the helmsman as he fought to control the starship's attitude. Margie looked up at the viewscreen and glared at the six smaller craft approaching in what could only be an attack vector. The light from the Dulisian sun played across the gleaming green hull of four of the vessels. They were undeniably beautiful, all smooth curves and flowing lines. Embossed on their ventral hulls were stylized representations of a golden winged creature with scarlet and black outlines. It appeared to be an alien phoenix, hawk or eagle.

Romulans.

They had to have hidden themselves from the humans with their damnable holographic cloak. Normally, they would have seen through the trick with subspace sensors if not for the solar storm. Four of the birdies were birds of prey and two of them were exactly like Orion interceptors. There had been rumors that the Orion Syndicate got their interceptors from the Romulans or that they were supplying the Romulans with their interceptors. Less than half the size of the NX-06, the birds of prey raced through the void with a grace and speed that the Endeavour couldn't match. Meanwhile, the interceptors swooped past the starship to fire at the Neptunes.

"Fire!" shouted Margie. It was almost unnecessary as Tom, the tactical officer, anticipated the order.

The first shot missed the nearest bird of prey. Another phase cannon shot appeared onscreen, hitting the enemy ship. Its source was revealed to be the Farragut as it charged past the Endeavour, accompanied by the Soyuz. The second Neptune-class ship fired a phase beam at the second nearest bird of prey with the Farragut following closely with its own shot on the same target.

Margie was proud of the Neptunes' crews' prompt and professional reaction. Having assigned the Romulan ships Greek alphabetical letters for easier identification and targeting, the Endeavour's primary phase cannon spoke its fire at the lead bird of prey again and again until a plasma fire bloomed from Alpha's starboard nacelle.

The Valiant retaliated against an interceptor for a successful hit. Endeavour, flying past the birds of prey, fired phase cannons relentlessly at the second interceptor until it blew, scattering large remains across the void.

The birds of prey had been maneuvering in a distinct formation: four ships, split into two separate fighting wings with a single primary leader in both wings, would cover for each other. The first wing would fly slightly ahead and to one side of the second group. Simple, yet effective. After the surprise attack on the human starships, the Romulans had to regroup. After the destruction of Zeta, the lead commander clearly decided that the Endeavour was the greatest threat so the first wing focused their fire on the NX starship.

Alpha, Beta and Endeavour exchanged energy fire, lime green particle beams crisscrossing angry red phased laser beams until the Romulans successfully caused an explosion to bloom on the starship's port nacelle.

Margie grunted and held onto her chair arms as her ship shook under the fire. "Load torpedoes! Tell the Neptunes to fire torpedoes on all the birdies on my command!" She paused as the order was relayed on the subspace bands. The starship trembled again under enemy fire. "Fire!"

Thrumming vibrations signaled the launch of torpedoes from the Endeavour. Margie could see more torpedoes coming from the other starships. She grunted and gritted her teeth as yet more particle fire rocked her ship.

"Hull breach on Decks 4, 5, and 6!" Zhou shouted from his science console even as Margie watched the torpedoes detonate in atomic fire. One of the birds of prey was destroyed almost instantly. Its shield must have collapsed already, she thought. Two more birds of prey shuddered under the nuclear assault as secondary explosions rippled across their hulls, sending them into uncontrolled tumbles. The fourth warship evaded a torpedo before another struck it explosively. Delta, however, survived mostly intact and continued the combat while Alpha and Gamma regained control of themselves.

The remaining Romulan interceptor attacked the Farragut savagely, firing its single particle cannon.

This was going to be a hard fight, Margie knew. Another thought came as she realized that the Romulans were forcing their way toward Dulisian IV: The birdies must not reach the Boomers.

The viewscreen's frustrating static finally cleared up. "The solar storm has dropped off," reported Zhou. Finally, a break, thought Margie.

"Sir! Engineering reports a coolant leak!" shouted Tom. Captain Margie Black ground her teeth. This was complicating matters for Endeavour. Tom continued, "They're getting into radiation suits, but they should be able to—"

Zhou interrupted. "One ship dropping out of warp." Margie glanced at the science officer with surprise. Captain Jennings was supposed to stay with the Boomers. If that was the Republic…. Zhou continued, frowning at his console's readings, "Unknown configuration. Multiple weapon ports, heavy shielding and heavy armor." Zhou glanced up. "A warship."

"Onscreen." Margie frowned at the new image. She had never seen this design of warship before, but its configuration was unmistakably….

Zhou voiced the final part of Margie's thought.

"Romulan."

**Imperial Romulan Warbird D'ridthau **

**(Some time before)**

Commander Xerius had watched the battle from his position close to the first Dulisian planet. He and his crew had some time before stopped stimulating the Dulisian sun with electromagnetic pulses to create the storm and relocated to the planet's orbit to observe the results. Xerius hadn't expected the arrival of the NX-class starship, but still hoped that this operation would go well.

Only the bungling Commander responsible for the attack had to screw it up!

When you enter a battle area, you go for the hardest target and eliminate it before moving on to other weaker targets. This lesson has been hammered into students at the Imperial War College. It would seem that Commander Lovok used another lesson instead: maximum terror with minimum effort. It would usually work against civilians but the idiot didn't seem to realize that the enemies were seasoned officers.

It would appear that Commander Xerius had to handle this battle himself. "Take us to the lead _hevamsu_ ship. Warp 3."

The Rihanha helmsman looked up incredulously, the light shining on his golden helmet. "But, _enarrain_, we're in the inner system!"

It was true. Warp travel was hazardous inside a star system due to the presence of space objects such as meteors, which was the reason for most starships dropping out of warp upon reaching a star system and going in on impulse. Still, the need was urgent. Xerius narrowed his eyes at the helmsman. "We have _Mnhei'sahe_ for _Enarrain_ Lovok. Palteth, are you willing to betray the Virtues of the Way?"

The officer widened his eyes at the thought. It was unthinkable for him, as it should be for any of the Rihannsu. D'Era, the Way, has been a guiding principal for the Star Empire ever since the Exile. Education in it began at birth. Palteth looked down away from Xerius and in so doing, exposed his neck in an appropriate chastised expression of submission. "Apologies, _Daise'Enarrain_ Xerius."

Xerius grunted in satisfaction at maintaining his _Mnhei'sahe_, the Ruling Passion, over Palteth and turned away to leave the command center. This decision to join battle with the _hevamsu_, the humans, personally was a risky one, not to mention momentous. He wasn't the governor of the new colony at Rhei'ilhne because he was timid. He had received a secret communiqué from Vulcan to secure routes outside of Earth space to make way for Centurion Telvor's ship. As he was preparing a flotilla for the task, he got another message, this time from Tal Shiar agents, of a large convoy transporting dilithium crystals. It was then he decided to head the operation himself. Such a prize would serve the Star Empire's goals as well as get him noticed by the Imperial Senate. Perhaps he would be promoted to one of the flagships. Only those with the names of the ancient Exile Ships were permitted to be fleet flagships. Why not? He could serve his family by propelling himself into the Senate itself!

This operation, after all, wasn't too far off from the mission to secure routes for Centurion Telvor's flight.

**UES Endeavour (now)**

Staring at the viewscreen, Margie could see that the new arrival was easily more than twice the size of the birds of prey. Its primary hull was perhaps as big as the NX saucer section or slightly bigger. It wasn't as aesthetically pleasing since it bore the unmistakable aggressive lines of a ship made for war. The topside's lines curved and narrowed as if to emphasize the illusion of a beak jutting forward at the nose in spite of the saucer-shaped front. A large tube opening was in the ship's 'beak' and it had a stylized predator bird painted on warship's underside like its smaller sisters.

Starfleet had suspected the existence of a heavier class of Romulan warship than the bird of prey. Until now, this suspicion wasn't backed by hard evidence. It made no sense that the Romulans wouldn't deploy such vessels until now.

The warbird had dropped out of warp within range of Dulisian IV which was where the running battle was now. As it passed the planet, it launched a missile at its surface. Margie's face tightened in helpless anger. The small Boomer outpost was essentially defenseless. Soon a nuclear detonation flashed and mushroomed on the distant planet's surface. The outpost was gone.

The Valiant moved to challenge the new arrival, firing phase cannons at it in anger.

Shields flaring under the assault, the warbird turned its attention to the smaller triangular starship. It seemed to exude arrogance. Then a blue glow shone deep within the large weapon port in the vessel's nose.

Margie stood from her command chair at the ominous blue glow.

The warbird fired its main weapon. A thick blue beam so intense it appeared white lanced through the night sky and speared right through the Valiant. Almost instantly, the beam expired. But now, the Valiant tumbled away at the shock, crippled, her lights flickering, and the stars visible through the gaping hole in the portside of her primary hull.

The captain found that she wasn't the only one with her mouth hanging open.

"I'm really starting to hate those guys," muttered Tom.

**UES Republic**

Captain Myra Jennings was also beginning to hate the Romulans. With that new warship and its main cannon in the picture, her fellow starships wouldn't be able to last long in the battle. She glanced at her communications officer. "Stella, tell the Boomers to get out of here."

Stella pressed on her earpiece, listening to the responses from the Boomers. Myra didn't have to hear the responses for she could see it: onscreen, the Boomer freighters had begun to go to warp one by one. But some of them seemed to hang back. Problems with their fusion warp reactor?

"Sir, Fortunate, Horizon, North Star, Prometheus, Kimba Huta, McConnell, Greenleaf, Gideon and Gemini say they're staying." Before Myra could open her mouth to order those freighters to get out, Stella said, "Captain, they insist."

Looking up at the viewscreen, she noticed that more than those nine freighters were staying behind. Gesturing at them, Myra said, "What about them?"

"The solar storm affected their engines. They're trying to fix them as quickly as possible."

Captain Jennings sat back in her chair. Now she understood why some of the Boomers had to stay behind. They may tend to be stubborn about their independence, but they were a community and supported each other. She still hoped that the Romulans didn't reach them. "Helm, let's shoot some birds."

The impulse manifolds on the stern of the half-saucer form of the NW-class ship glowed red and bright as it went to full impulse.

**UES Endeavour**

Margie saw what Captain Jennings planned to do. She was grateful for the help. Now she needed to do her duty. "Tell the Republic to deal with the birds and—"

The remaining Romulan interceptor blew apart under the Soyuz's fire.

"Just deal with the birds." Margie clapped her hands together even as her ship shook at an enemy shot. "Now we deal with that warship." They needed to eliminate it as quickly as possible. She stabbed a finger at the warbird hanging in the viewscreen, firing at Endeavour and the other starships from afar. "Go for it. Tom, fire at will."

The Endeavour turned about and went straight for the warbird, firing phased laser beams and bolts, and torpedoes. The warbird's shields flared constantly under the aggressive fire. Particle beams and point-defense lasers shot at both the onrushing starship and her torpedoes. For a moment, Margie wondered why the Romulans didn't fire their new weapon at them. It must take them time to build up its power.

The Farragut realized what the Endeavour was trying to do, so it joined in the attack on the warbird the moment the Republic arrived and began to fight the three remaining birds of prey. The Romulan commander, having learned from his mistakes earlier in the battle, then focused his birds on the Republic.

Soon, the Romulans wrenched the Republic's port nacelle off at its strut. Even so, the starship ignored its wound and turned away from the severed nacelle to continue shooting at the Romulans.

The Endeavour's seemingly suicidal charge at the warbird was having its toll. Another explosion on her port nacelle finally put that nacelle out of commission. A plasma leak was now trailing from it.

Margie had to struggle to stay in her command chair.

"Captain! Multiple coolant leaks in Engineering! Hull plating redlining!"

Margie received the news grimly. Her Chief Engineer would be the last out of Engineering before it was completely evacuated and sealed. Doubtless, he would eventually die of radiation poisoning. "Has Engineering been sealed?"

Endeavour rocked again. "Yes, sir. But the radiation's spreading out into the deck."

For a brief moment, the captain mourned for the crewmates. Only a moment. She still had her duty.

"Captain! Their shield's buckling!" shouted Zhou.

Margie could see it: several holes appeared randomly in the constantly illuminated Romulan energy screen and some phased fire made it through them. But the warbird was equipped with heavy polarized armor. It would last longer than her starship. She noticed that the warbird was lining its main weapon port with the Endeavour and a faint blue light began to glow deep within its maw. Almost unnecessarily, Zhou reported, "Birdie plasma cannon energizing!"

It was now or never. "Get us close!" A burst of speed, engines growling in protest, and they were within 500 meters of the warbird. "Energize!"

The communications officer immediately relayed the order to the officer operating the transporter. This was the reason for Margie's seemingly suicidal order to get close to the warbird: using the transporter a delivery system for armed ordnance, a torpedo on a proximity setting would be beamed aboard a targeted enemy vessel. They had to get close because the makeup of Romulan hulls made it difficult for transporter beams to penetrate from afar. They had hooked up the transporter to a separate power generator for this purpose in case damages should affect the reactor in Engineering, as was the case now.

-/\-

Commander Xerius was surprised to hear a high-pitched humming sound in his command center. The sound definitely did not belong on his warbird. He turned to the source in time to see a coffin-sized torpedo materialize out of the infamous transporter effect. A gold-helmeted crewman had the misfortune to be standing in the midst of the transporter beam, fusing with the torpedo with an agonized scream.

In the nanoseconds before the torpedo detonated, Xerius regretted not completing his mission, not serving his family and Empire anymore. _Mnhei'sahe._

-/\-

On the main viewscreen, Margie could see the warbird's outer hull swell and rupture from the explosion within. The green ship began a slow, uncontrolled tumble, carried forward by its momentum. The blue glow within the main weapon port faded, but flames blossomed from within the vessel's hull as the explosion affected both the huge fusion reactor and the plasma accumulation chamber. The painted predator bird, wreathed in flames, was exposed to viewers. As the warbird began to break apart, it exploded in a violent burst. The unexpected violence of the shockwave tossed the Endeavour and Farragut backward, throwing many of their crewmates around.

The NX starship cart-wheeled uncontrollably before it regained its attitude. Grimly relieved, Margie allowed herself a moment to relax. It was then she noticed things that she didn't note before in her intense concentration on the warbird. The lights were out, though emergency lighting was on. The stench of burnt flesh assaulted her nose, causing her to wince. Pain now lanced through her side with each breath. The steady whine of hull breach alarms filled her ears. Red lighting pulsed slowly and steadily in the bridge. She pushed herself off the deck with a groan.

She was shocked at the sight that greeted her.

Fires raged everywhere, forcing the fire suppression system to work overtime. Her communications officer lay on the deck, his neck bent at an unnatural angle over the edge of his platform. The helmsman lay on his console, panting, blood almost completely obscuring his face. At the tactical console, Major Tom Jenkins was trying to staunch the massive bleeding in his leg with his MACO jacket. Lieutenant Zhou Li was struggling back to his seat, groaning and wincing as he held a wrist.

Margie determinedly pulled herself up into the command chair. Her right leg buckled, forcing herself to throw herself into the seat. She was slightly surprised at the absence of feeling in that leg. "Damage report."

"Minimal power the hull plating," announced Zhou in a voice full of wincing pain as he forced himself to use both hands on his console, enduring the sprain in his wrist. "Port nacelle is leaking drive plasma. The warp core's offline. Core containment's holding but…" Zhou stopped, staring at his panel in horrified silence.

"What is it, Lieutenant Zhou?"

Bleak and emotionlessly, the science officer quietly said, "Radiation level is at six sieverts, shipwide, and climbing."

Margie's face tightened in horror. That meant lethal radiation exposure.

The Endeavour rocked. Unprepared, Margie's head snapped back and thumped on the chair's headrest.

The unexpected explosion of the warbird had an effect on the other three surviving Romulan birds of prey, and they twisted into dives or climbs that carried them away from the exploding warbird before swooping to charge the Endeavour in revenge.

"Weapons?"

Tom gasped as he continued to try and staunch the blood flow. "Minimal. We have one torpedo loaded in its bay. One phase cannon is still online." The ship rocked. "Correction: All phase cannons are offline."

"Status of other ships?"

"Valiant and Farragut are disabled and undergoing battlefield repairs. Soyuz and Republic are pursuing the birds, but they're heavily damaged and slow."

Angry at the unfairness of it all, Margie ordered, "Fire that torpedo at the lead bird."

A _thrum_ vibrated through the deck. Onscreen, the lone torpedo exploded against a bird of prey, destroying one of its nacelles. Still, the birds of prey vengefully descended on the Endeavour, firing away.

"Hull plating's offline!" announced Zhou, his hands holding onto the console with white knuckles.

"Attitude control's gone!" gasped out the helmsman, wiping his blood out of his eyes.

The Romulans continued to fire relentlessly at the starship. Hull breaches have become visible all over the ship which now began to roll through space with the force of the weapons fire. Fireballs blossomed with almost each shot. More electrical fires burst out on the Endeavour's bridge.

Margie twisted her face away from the heat of another small explosion in the bridge.

"Core containment's gone!" shouted Zhou. He didn't have to add that without containment, much more radiation now spilled across the entire starship.

The captain helplessly looked around at her crewmates, both living and dead. She saw that Tom has passed out from loss of blood. She desperately wished she could do something for him, for her entire crew. She couldn't order all hands to abandon ship because the Romulans would destroy the escape pods. They didn't take prisoners.

A surge of nausea swept through Margie. She heard Zhou vomiting, the sound of which caused her stomach to clench in its own demand to submit to the nausea. Her vision rolled and swam, forcing her to hold onto the chair arms and to repeatedly squeeze her eyes close. She recognized the symptoms of terminal radiation exposure. That was another reason for her not ordering all hands to abandon ship. No matter what she did, they were all doomed to die.

A shot created a large hull breach, causing human crewmates to spill out into the fatal void of space. Captain Marjorie Black gazed at the fires burning in front of the bridge, losing herself in them. She sent mental farewells to her admiral father, her mother, the rest of her family and her friends. She also bid farewell to her crew of whom she was proud. As the crew faced their destruction, the Romulans continued to pound the resilient Endeavour.

Nine Boomer freighters arrived at impulse. Each was missing all of their cargo pods except for the pods immediately behind engine-pilot section. Their cargo grappler tube still extended from behind like long tails. Panels on the cargo pods opened to reveal missile racks hidden within. A mass of missiles launched from each of the opened pods and then the engine-pilot sections disconnected themselves from the grappler tube. They immediately followed in the wake of the cloud of missiles.

Realizing their danger, the Romulans immediately focused their lime green particle beams on the Endeavour's bridge. Soon, the bridge's hull shattered and several bodies were sucked out into space. Their revenge satisfied, the Romulans turned their collective attention to the Boomers.

Particle cannons spat at the massed missiles, creating chain explosions. But many of the missiles got through and impacted on the birds of prey. Damaged and crippled, they retaliated at the Boomers. Immediately, a large explosion rewarded them. And another.

-/\-

"That was the Prometheus! Kimba Huta!" shouted Nora Forrest.

Paul Mayweather squinted against the light of another explosion.

"The North Star!"

He mourned for the people on those ships. He dearly wished that they had more missiles. But they were only over-armed freighters. They might be able to fight off small warships, but they were really not designed to fight such battles. This was why they held off as long as they did before deciding to join the fight when the Endeavour destroyed that big green warship.

More the remaining missiles struck the Romulans even as the Boomers achieved their weapons range. Plasma cannons spat flame-colored bolts at the birds of prey. Then a phased laser beam lashed at one of the enemies. The damaged Republic, minus her port nacelle, has arrived.

A particle beam hit the Horizon. An explosion flared in the control center, causing Paul to throw up his arm protectively. He looked back to see his mother rush to spray a fire extinguisher at the fire and a downed screaming humanoid. Who was it? There was no time to see who was injured. Rianna now used her skills as a medic to tend to the downed crewmate. Charlie grunted at the helm behind Paul as he struggled to keep the plasma cannons lined up with the maneuverable birds of prey.

One of the birds of prey, already badly damaged, exploded.

Another shot grazed the Horizon, causing it to shake. Mercifully, it was just a graze. The Romulans were now distracted by the Republic and the Soyuz. The Boomers then combined their plasma and laser fire to pound at the Romulans until the glow of their engines went out. The weakened Republic and Soyuz then used weakened phased laser beams to shoot off the enemy weapon ports.

The Romulans were finally disabled and dead in the water.

Paul let out a breath in relief. Just in time. Any longer and more Boomer ships would go up in flames. He shook his head. This idea of a Q-class freighter was a foolhardy one.

The Valiant, which had miraculously survived the massive plasma lance by the warbird and fought to close off the corridors exposed to space, came limping into the scene. The Farragut likewise limped in. All four surviving starships moved close to the two dead birds of prey, two for each one.

"What're they doing?" wondered Charlie.

Paul grimaced when he saw that it was Nora who was injured. Rianna was still tending to her. She looked up at her son and nodded reassuringly at the unvoiced question. He sighed. She would live.

Still, his anger burned at the Romulans. Because of them, the Dulisian System has become useless to his people. Paul answered, "They're going to board them."

Charlie's voice was tight with anger. "Romulans don't take prisoners. Why should we?"

"I agree." And Paul did. So many people died here. If he were a Starfleet captain, he would have blown the birdies out of the sky no matter if they were now defenseless. But he wasn't Starfleet and he heard that Starfleet people didn't like shooting at defenseless people no matter their crimes. He checked the sensor readings. There was no power in the birdies at all, so it had to be safe.

The starships soon touched the port and starboard sides of the birds. Paul watched anxiously. Now they would know what the mysterious Romulans looked like. Shuttles full of armed personnel wouldn't be enough to overcome a large resistant crew so this move had to be done. This was also an opportunity to study Romulan technology and to interrogate prisoners for information. Paul sincerely hoped that Starfleet would not interrogate gently.

Two flashes of bright light filled the viewscreen. Everyone had to cover their eyes at the painful brightness.

When the light faded, there were only quickly expanding fields of glowing debris where the Romulan and Starfleet ships once were.

A dumbfounded Rianna found her voice in the deep silence. "Wh-what happened?"

Paul checked the sensor logs. He looked up at the scene of death, his eyes burning with rage. "The…the cowards blew all of their nuclear ordnance at once."

A sudden thought occurred to him. His fingers flew across his control panel and the viewscreen flickered as it switched its view to a distant shot of the sole surviving Starfleet vessel.

Endeavour was a wreck. It drifted without power. The port nacelle looked mangled and twisted out of shape, leaking warp plasma even now; a quarter of the starboard pylon remained intact, its nacelle missing. Gaping holes in the hull revealed the ship's mangled innards and wide jagged scars had been carved all over the starship.

Exhausted from the whole ordeal, Paul said, "Let's go back for the cargo pods. Raise the Starfleet base at Gamma Hydra. They'll send someone to tow this back home. And now…now we hold a vigil here."


	24. A Chess Move: The Kalar Affair

_JC: Thanks. Isn't this story enough to have a B5/Trekky version of Space: Above and Beyond? ;)_

_Tarrin: And heeeeeeerre's an update:)_

_gaby: Thanks, gaby. It's an interesting idea. I'm sure others have done it, like Skeet for example. I wouldn't mind doing some bit, though. We'll see._

_snifflers unite: You have something against Terrina? Just kidding. I've given serious thought to letting a planetkiller or two appear in this story. Still may come up._

_JovianJeff: Thanks, Jove!_

_Worker72: Thanks. Would a Vulcan trust the Soul Hunter to take care of the Katra? How would other Soul Hunters try to extract it without extracting the poor Soul Hunter's soul along the way? That'd be a very interesting dilemma._

_grayangle: Blame it on Real Life (tm). I've come across a picture which shows a cat-person pondering what to write on his typewriter and seemed to be unaware that the paper in the writer was burning. That's how I feel. I enjoy writing very much and I'm fully aware of 'Generations' mad scientist Tolian Soran's comment about how time is like the fire._

_We will see hybrid ships very soon. In fact, we'll see some action at Andoria and the beginning of Operation Medea after this._

_Allen Pitt: It IS ironic. Admiral Gardner is based on General McClellan, actually. You're right: a capable admiral would combine fleets to finish one war in one universe and then shift to the other. The problem is similar to what the United States and the British Empire faced in the Second World War: They had the choice to focus on either the Nazis or the Japanese, or divide their attention between the two enemies. As it were, the Allies chose dividing their attention--they couldn't afford allowing either one enemy to gain the upper hand. It's the same way with the Minbari and the Romulans._

* * *

**UES Enterprise NX-01**

Captain Jonathan Archer felt like pushing. If he could, he would go outside and push his starship faster to catch the Romulan and Minbari ships. At last report, the small Romulan-crewed Rigelian scoutship was still fleeing with a Minbari ship in apparent tow.

Archer glared at the main viewscreen as if trying to will the enemy ships to appear on it. Some time before, the enemies managed to get beyond the Enterprise's sensor range as the starship lagged behind. It could only maintain the speed of warp 5.06 for a short time before it was forced to slow down to warp 4.6. Romulan drone-ships didn't have that kind of speed, but T'Pol had speculated that the vessel was drawing power from the Minbari ship. He flicked a switch on his command chair arm to activate the intercom system. "Bridge to Engineering, how it's going?"

"_We're trying to upgrade the plasma injectors with Haradin technology."_

The captain shared a surprised look with T'Pol. Back in the Delphic Expanse, the Enterprise had met its older self, captained by the Human-Vulcan hybrid Lorian. Haradin traders had provided that Enterprise with plasma injector upgrades that would allow travel at warp 6.9 in brief bursts. Archer remembered that the upgrades would have overloaded the present Enterprise's plasma injectors and destroyed the ship. He wasn't sure if the destruction of his ship and the death of his crew were worth catching the Romulans and Minbari. "Commander Kelby, are you sure about that?"

Kelby knew what the captain was referring to. After all, he was there when they met the other Enterprise. _"Yes, sir. We won't go beyond the ship's structural limits."_

That still wasn't so comforting to Archer. "But handling plasma injectors at warp? Not what I'd call safe."

"_We're just moving one injector at a time, sir. We may have to drop down to warp 4.4 just to be safe but I think we can handle it. Captain, you did order the highest speed possible."_

It was true. Archer was sure that if the Enterprise didn't catch the Romulan ship, a Romulan-Minbari alliance would be the result. Such an alliance would be disastrous for the Coalition, to say the least. Minbari warcruisers outfitted with holo-cloaking technology would put visual targeting out of the equation, leaving only their characteristic slight gravity wells for detection. The Romulans, however, didn't give off that type of sensor reading. Warbirds outfitted with Minbari stealth technology would be able to attack Coalition worlds undetected, even with impunity. He didn't like the idea of slowing down for an on-the-run upgrade, but Romulan space was a long way from here and they were still warping in the direction of Vulcan space. Not for the first time, he wondered why the Romulans would feel safe in entering Vulcan space.

"Okay, Kelby, we're dropping to 4.4. Just make it fast, please." Archer really didn't like doing this. It meant the Romulans and their Minbari guests getting much farther away from the Enterprise. "Hoshi, have you contacted the Vulcan High Command?"

Annoyance flashed across Hoshi Sato's face. "I'm trying, Captain," she hissed in frustration. "It's the bureaucracy. I'm going through the channels at Vulcan."

Archer grunted, sharing the communications officer's frustration. He'd hoped that the Romulans would be stopped by Vulcan patrol ships at the border.

Malcolm Reed rolled his eyes. "The Vulcans are the most efficient people I know and even they are not immune to the government disease."

T'Pol ignored the British jibe. "The delay is to be expected. Vulcan is still processing the Reformation."

"But we're at war!" Reed pointed out.

T'Pol directed her gaze straight at Reed. "Vulcan must reconcile its present military status with the teachings of Surak."

"Oh, come off it! Surak was just a teacher. Okay, he was your messiah. But this is war and that requires all of our attention. You can do the reconciling when the war's over."

The Vulcan woman fixed Reed with an intense look. "Do you not recall our experience on the 'Seleya' in the Delphic Expanse?"

"Yeah. The ship's crew was driven insane by the trellium."

"Were we to abandon ourselves into the war with the Minbari, we would regress to the pre-Surak state which was not too dissimilar to the type suffered by the Seleya crew. That state is the reason Vulcans used nuclear weapons recklessly. Our homeworld once had all the aspects of a Minshara-class planet until the time of Surak. It was a world of great forests. Since then, it has taken us generations to restore Vulcan to the desert world it is now." Her gaze intensified. "Mr. Reed, were we to abandon the teachings and discipline of Surak in order to fully pursue the war, the madness that we labor to keep under rigid control would spread beyond my people. Would you have all the worlds be touched by that madness and risk Vulcan's fate?"

Reed's eyes widened at the images that his mind conjured. He looked down, avoiding T'Pol's gaze and showing that he agreed with her. Meanwhile, the rest of the bridge crew stared at her. As far as they could remember, it was the longest speech T'Pol had ever delivered.

A strong hum vibrated through the Enterprise's structure. Travis Mayweather looked down at his instruments and let out a surprised gasp. "We're accelerating to Warp 5.2!"

Indeed, the star-streaks seem to be going a bit faster with slightly more intensity.

Captain Archer was impressed. The Enterprise could go only at Warp 5.06 for a short time before now. Commander Kelby was certainly proving himself to be a good replacement for Commander Tucker.

"At this rate," reported Reed, "we will intercept the Romulans in sixteen minutes."

The hum rose quickly until the starship was steadily vibrating under the strain. Archer took a deep breath and kept a grip on his nerves. He forbade his mind to create horrid images of his beloved ship coming apart at the seams at such high warp, allowing crew members to directly experience warp space.

Enterprise must hold.

**Romulan Imperial Warbird Raptor**

The Humans were still in pursuit. This was making Centurion Selin Telvor anxious. He had thought that the Humans would think to go in a straight line toward Romulan space instead of the circuitous route he was taking through Vulcan space. He swiveled his command chair to look at the circle of officers arrayed all around him, all facing him as they worked at their consoles, their backs to the wall.

An officer looked up from her scope. "_Arrain_, the _Hevamsu_ ship has come into sensor range."

That meant they were catching up to them. And they could see the Romulans as well.

Her eyes stared intensely and unblinkingly at the tactical console's readings. "_Arrain_…their speed…it's at Warp 5.2."

"Veruul!" Telvor swore. The Humans weren't supposed to be that fast. The Star Empire had entered this war assuming that no one could match the Romulans in creativity and resilience except for the Vulcans. Telvor still believed that though he had to admit that the Humans were proving to be stubborn and motivated. If the Humans caught up, they'd be forced to turn around and fight. Despite the abundant information gleaned from the Minbari prisoners and their computer database, the Romulans hadn't a firm handle on the functions of the Minbari ship hidden within the Raptor's Rigelian holo-veneer.

Telvor jumped out of his chair and crossed the circular command center to press a marker on a screen. The screen obliged by showing an image of the saucer shape of the Human ship slowly but steadily growing larger. The orange-red bussard ramjet collectors were glowing more brightly than usual over the horizon of the ship's saucer. This operation consumed a lot of the crew's energy and man-hours. He prayed to the Elements that it wasn't all a waste.

He could only hope that the operatives on Vulcan did their job.

**UES Enterprise**

"It's coming in weapons range, now," reported Lieutenant Reed.

Just in time. The vibration in the starship's structure had gotten worse to the point where Archer's teeth were chattering. He could see the Rigelian scoutship on the main viewer. He knew that the Romulans were using holographic technology to disguise themselves. It somehow seemed contemptible to him. Perhaps the feeling went back to the time when wars were common on Earth where some warships sometimes disguised themselves belong to other nations or even as hospital ships.

"How long until the Vulcan border?"

"Six minutes," replied T'Pol.

"Any word from them?" The question was directed at Hoshi who shook her head in negation. The captain had asked the ship's occupants to drop out of warp and heave to for questioning.

Guess the Romulans weren't in a cooperative mood. As usual. "Okay, Mr. Reed, fire a warning shot across their bow. Travis, you know what to do."

The Enterprise rose up high above the other ship's plane. A phased laser beam lanced out over the Rigelian ship through its intended path.

Archer glanced at Hoshi who, pressing a hand to her earpiece, shook her head again.

"Target their engines. Use the plasma cannons. Try to shake them out of warp without too much damage. We want them alive."

"Yes, sir." Reed toggled the controls to power up the requested weapons. Soon, bolts that were like tiny comets whose heads glowed white hot with orange-red tails shot forth from the Enterprise. Most of the pulsed plasma bolts impacted on the Rigelian ship, with a few bolts actually passing through the ship's body to vanish into the void beyond.

Reed let out a surprised yelp. "Sir! Vulcan cruiser coming in fast!"

On the main viewer, the bridge crew could see the red shape of a Vulcan Surak-class cruiser banking at high warp into the area. A green particle beam lashed out at the Enterprise, shaking the Earth ship.

Everyone was surprised at this turn of event. Another accurate shot from the Vulcan ship caused the Enterprise to shake so hard its already strained engines couldn't take it anymore.

The warp field shut down abruptly. Enterprise fell out into normal space, shedding the built-up energy not by gradual deceleration, but in the form of great blasts of radiation and visual light outside. Inside her, everything rocked and jumped. Archer hung on to the arms of his seat.

"Hoshi! Hail the Vulcans!" Captain Archer was outraged. Even as his ship dropped out of warp, he could see the Rigelian ship escape beyond sight and beyond reach. Meanwhile, the Vulcan ship slowed to impulse and banked to face the Earth ship. It now presented a bloodied spear-point through a ring.

The main viewer changed images to show the visage of a grey-eyed Vulcan man in a brown uniform whose color didn't help the yellow tint in his skin. Archer recognized the captain from an encounter at Coridan. The Human wasn't in a mood to play nice. "Sopek, what the _hell_ are you doing?!"

Sopek quirked an eyebrow at Archer's emotional outburst. _"Captain Archer, I am unaware that Starfleet was in the habit of attacking vessels of allied worlds. Or are you alone in reneging on the Coalition Compact?"_

Archer had to keep himself from screaming at the Vulcan. Damn the bureaucracy that kept the report from circulating through the Vulcan High Command! "Captain Sopek, that wasn't a Rigelian ship. It was a Romulan with a holographic disguise."

Sopek leaned forward, a small line appearing between his eyebrows in concern. _"Has that been confirmed?"_

T'Pol spoke up. "It has, Captain Sopek. The vessel in question has a power signature not dissimilar to that of the Romulan drone-ships."

Eyebrows knitting a little more, Sopek slowly cocked his head. Archer knew that only great surprise could cause a Vulcan to show that much emotion. _"The vessel is on a course heading into Vulcan space. That is illogical."_ Sopek leaned back in his chair, smoothing his face into the usual Vulcan stoic look. _"I cannot allow my people to come to harm. The vessel is still within my sensors' outer range."_

The main viewer abruptly changed to the image of the Vulcan cruiser beginning to turn around.

Reed echoed Archer's feeling by saying, "Not even a bloody apology."

T'Pol said, "The Ni'Var is now sharing its sensor readings with us. The Romulan vessel is crossing the border at this moment."

The tactical officer nodded, recognizing the rebuke for what it was.

"Good," grunted Archer. "Maximum warp."

The Enterprise lurched forward even as the Vulcan ship vanished into a warp-flash.

-/\-

Captain Archer was pacing in his office. T'Pol stood with her hands clasped at her back, following the pacing with her eyes. She briefly wondered how the captain could endure bending over each time he came upon the office's supporting beam. It seemed inefficient body control to her. She thought that the pacing was a Human way of delaying a decision, although she observed that it assisted in the thinking process. Again, it seemed inefficient: it was a waste of time and body energy. Despite his experience on Vulcan, the captain wouldn't meditate.

T'Pol thought it was time to intrude upon Archer's thoughts. "The legal options offered by the Coalition Compact are limited. However, the vessel is an enemy combatant and the Minbari vessel it is towing would qualify as contraband cargo. When we overtake the Romulans and manage to force a surrender from them, both vessels are therefore subject seizure by Coalition forces. Captain, the chances of surrender are not encouraging. When forced to, the Romulans would fight to the end."

"Suicide?" A disgusted frown showed Archer's opinion of that.

"Yes." T'Pol also wondered at the aversion to suicide that was widespread among the Humans. "In Earth's 19th century, the Vulcan Office of Off-world Exploration and the Vulcan High Command once employed the principle of 'destruction before detection' as an extreme form of the non-interference policy. As proclaimed by Prefect Savar, if a Vulcan ship was unable to depart the area upon detection by pre-warp races, it was to self-destruct in order to prevent the local people from gaining insight into alien life and the accompanying technology."

Predictably, Archer was shocked. "Couldn't they ask for rescue from other Vulcans?"

"Vulcan space travel was primitive at the time. It would take months or years for a rescue to be forthcoming. The principle is merely an extension of ritual suicide practiced by some Vulcans when they reach a certain infirmity of age."

"The Romulans do this? Would they do this even with the Minbari onboard?"

"It is a theory." Archer caught T'Pol's slight emphasis on her last word. "We have received reports of such an incident at the Dulisian System."

Archer nodded. In a small but vicious battle, a Starfleet force was destroyed at Dulisian by suicidal Romulans while protecting a Boomer convoy. It was a case of mutually assured destruction. Was that what the war had in store for both sides? "And this is your way of telling me to be careful."

"Yes, Captain. A man with a death wish is a danger not only to himself, but also to his companions. That may be what the Romulans intended for their ships' last fight."

"Point taken. In any case, if we manage to make the Romulans heave to, you are to board their ship with MACO teams, demand its papers with the list of passengers and crew. Take the Romulans and the Minbari prisoners and send them over to both Enterprise and the Ni'Var. We don't have the room to keep them all. But make sure both command staffs are sent here. And the diplomats, too, if you find them. You will take possession of the Romulan and Minbari ships as prizes for Starfleet. I cannot stress that enough, T'Pol."

Quirking an eyebrow, T'Pol wondered at Humanity's territorial sense which could match that of the Romulans at times. If the Romulans crossed the Vulcan border, the captain would be effectively ordering her to ignore her world's sovereignty. Archer was still giving instructions.

"Everything aboard these ships, you will take possession and send on board Enterprise; any dispatches found on the prisoners, or in possession of those on board the ships, you will take possession, examine and retain if necessary."

"Very well. I will go over to the Romulan ship first before the rest of the boarding team."

Archer looked at her sharply and opened his mouth to object. Before he could so, T'Pol continued.

"Captain, I have some experience with the Romulans. During my tenure at the Vulcan Ministry of Security, I was part of the High Command mission to Tomed to open dialogues between the Vulcan and Romulan governments. It failed, but I am of the opinion that I have the experience to prepare the Romulans to accept our boarding action."

The captain, in concern, reached a hand toward T'Pol before remembering that she didn't like physical contact. "What about the…suicide directive? You're not expendable, T'Pol."

She was intrigued to find that deep inside herself, she was touched by Archer's concern. Apparently, the emotions were still there despite her careful study and implementation of Surak's teachings. That must be remedied. "Captain Sopek will transport his own boarding teams onto the Romulan ship. He recognizes my experience at Tomed so the teams will be under my command. The Ni'Var will scan for any indication of the 'suicide directive' as you call it and beam us out at the first signs."

The intercom system chirped for attention. _"Captain, we're entering weapons range."_

Archer grunted. "I still don't like it. Go ahead. If anything happens to you, I'll have Sopek's head."

T'Pol was also intrigued to find herself wondering about what Ambassador Soval said about Humans shortly before the terrorist bombing of the Earth embassy on Vulcan: Humans had the arrogance of Andorians, the stubborn pride of Tellarites; they were often as driven by emotions as Klingons and rarely, they were as logical as Vulcans. She would add that Humans had a similar sense of revenge as Andorians. She wondered about the Romulans: were they like the Humans? In any event, she would find out soon.

-/\-

"Finally," said Archer as he came out of his office, followed by T'Pol. He nodded for Lt. Reed to put Romulan ship on screen. He had been waiting impatiently to get within reach of the fake Rigelian ship. Sopek had more than made up for his outrageous action by relaying his sensor readings and leading the Enterprise to the enemy. It almost immediately became clear that the Romulans had made a course change to throw them off the scent, but they couldn't outrun the Vulcans' sensor technology.

On the main viewer, the Ni'Var was hanging nearby the Rigelian ship. Archer glanced at Hoshi who had reported that the Vulcans convinced the enemy ship to drop out of warp and power down. He could only imagine the Romulans' reaction to a Vulcan cruiser bearing down upon them hard. Very few races could best a Vulcan ship, like the Tholians and perhaps the Minbari. Even the Andorians had to use a few warships to defeat a Surak-class ship and a fleet to beat down a Suurok and Kir-classes combat cruiser. Captain Archer didn't know how anyone could defeat the triple-ringed Vulcan command ship.

It was too bad that the Vulcans refused to join in the fight against the Romulans. The Coalition would end the war very fast. Archer had to be thankful for small favors: the Vulcans were fighting the Minbari. Maybe the Coalition could build on that and eventually pull the Vulcans into the Romulan theater of the war.

"Hoshi?"

The Japanese woman knew what the captain wanted. "The Ni'Var signals the all clear."

"They better be right," put in Reed. "The weapons on the Ni'Var are still armed and locked on the Romulans."

Archer studied the image of the Rigelian ship on the main viewer. Why were the Romulans maintaining their holographic disguise? They had to know that the game was up. Maybe it was part of some sort of Romulan pride. There was no time to think about that. They had to move before they changed their mind and follow the suicide directive. "Mr. Reed, are the teams assembled and ready?"

"Awaiting your command, sir."

"T'Pol."

The named officer stood from her science console and strode into the lift.

Archer leaned forward, resting elbows on his knees and clasping hands in front of him. He knew that this incident would change everything. For one thing, they would finally know what the Romulans were. Now it begins.

-/\-

T'Pol studied the Rigelian ship through the pilot's window of her shuttlepod and through the computers. Standing behind her were five MACO officers. The pilot reported that two other shuttlepods were following them but hanging back in a slower speed.

"Hey, Commander," piped up one of the MACOs at T'Pol's back. "You think the Romulans are reptilians?"

Another MACO scoffed. "They could be anything, Ed! They could be big black scary spiders or even Japanese tentacled monsters! Right, Money?"

"Right, Amanda," answered a female MACO.

T'Pol turned to look over her shoulder. "Speculations do not serve a purpose at this point." She glanced up over the pilot's shoulder. The underside of the Rigelian ship's nacelle wings was now over the shuttlepod. She idly wondered why the Romulans were still maintaining their holographic disguise. Was it a way for them to thumb their noses at their captors? "We shall know for certain soon, Corporal Cole."

The pilot maneuvered the shuttlepod so that its portside hatch would open into one of the enemy ship's airlocks. Again, T'Pol wondered about the continued use of the holographic disguise. She had carefully determined that the airlock was a real airlock, not a trick of light and force-fields. This particular Romulan crew was a stubborn lot, determined as they were to confuse their captors even after surrender.

The airlock cycled and soon, they were able to open the hatch into the airlock chamber. A sharp hiss sounded as the two vessels' atmospheres mixed, creating a slight breeze. T'Pol signaled the Ni'Var. Immediately, columns of transporter light appeared in the airlock chamber and dissipated. In their place now stood five Vulcan security officers armed with particle rifles to match the MACOs' pulse rifles.

T'Pol held up her hand scanner. A purple glow lit up from the circular silver readout portion. Dipping an eyebrow at the scan reading, she stepped forward, holding the scanner before her as if to ward off evil. An icy feeling gripped her as the scanner reconfirmed its reading. She might as well be trying to ward off evil. Showing nothing on her face, she glanced back at the MACOs. The rust-colored uniformed Vulcan security officers narrowed their eyes slightly at her. Of course. They would detect a disturbance in T'Pol. She must be slacking in her time with the Humans.

What to do? Her hand scanner was telling her that it was detecting vulcanoid biosigns on the other side of the door. She stabbed a finger at her scanner, shutting it down, and then put it back in her pocket. It was illogical to delay. "They are unarmed."

Corporal Amanda Cole grunted as she patted her pulse rifle. "You'll excuse me, Commander, if we remain alert. A scanner, even if it's from Vulcan, can't detect weapons that don't use energy."

T'Pol appraised the female MACO with an arched eyebrow. Ambassador Soval's observation came into her mind again. "Most logical," she said. With that, she took her phase pistol out of its holster and aimed it at the hatch. She nodded at a Vulcan officer who then pressed button in the control panel beside the hatch. The pneumatic seal hissed and the round hatch rolled aside.

Beyond it stood a group of men wearing greenish sand-colored uniforms with wood beads woven through their long pepper grey hair, with more wood beads made into a sash slung over a shoulder to the opposite hip. If there was any doubt as to their identity, it was banished by the twin grayish depressions on either side of their noses which sported four nostrils.

Rigelians.

To reinforce that realization, a Chelon stood in the center of the group of Rigelians with a thick awkward-looking paw on an ornate silver staff. He wore shiny black armor with a white flowing cloak that seemed to be of one piece with the white headdress flowing from under his shiny black helmet. The Chelon's turtle-like face began to speak.

"I am Alonis Cobaryn, Lord of Zemtar Fortress on Rigel VII and commander of this ship, the Kalar. Be assured that the Rigelian Trade Commission will hear of this outrage."

A Human-looking man stepped out from among the Rigelians, followed by another Human-looking man. Wearing a patterned red-purple uniform, he scowled down at the Human and Vulcan boarders. "And I am Ambassador Lekev of the People's Republic of Coridan. You will be hearing from my government."

If there was any moment when T'Pol was tempted to employ one of the more colorful Human expletives, this was it.

**Raptor**

Centurion Telvor smiled as he tried to imagine the Coalitionists' reaction to apprehending a real Rigelian ship rather than his own Romulan drone-ship. He finished his observation of a crewman's work and stepped back to his central command chair. He was satisfied that both the Raptor and the Liandra were now hidden by a holographic disguise of a Vulcan Kir-class combat cruiser. At this moment, the engineers were changing the power and warp signatures of the Raptor. Once this was done, no one would be able to see through the deception.

Telvor once read of an Earth game called chess. It was much like the stylized strategy game of latrunculo back home on Romulus. In it, a player eliminates enemy pieces by pinning them between his own. One piece, the Centurion, has the ability to leap over pieces within parameters, rather like the Terran chess piece called the Knight.

Throughout his people's long history of warfare, Romulans have rarely attacked first, opting to test their enemies' resolve—

A chess game.


	25. Secrets

_Steven Kodaly: Think about the nature of Rigelians. You'll get your answer. That, or read the first section of this chapter._

_Worker72: Interesting idea, Minbari on Vulcan. Gonna be easy to spot a bonehead there, no?_

_DuQuesne: Vorlons are slow. They take the long view on events in the galaxy. But yes, they're starting up their war machine._

**

* * *

**

**Vulcan Combat Cruiser Ni'Var**

**Earth-Vulcan border**

Captain Sopek watched as the Enterprise warped away on the main viewer.

The crew of the Enterprise had been chagrined to find that the Rigelian vessel was a real Rigelian scoutship. They had tried to make amends to the occupants, to no avail. Lord Cobaryn, along with Ambassador Lekev, had lodged formal protests to the Earth government on subspace radio. Their respective governments at the Rigelian Trade Commission and at Coridan have been informed of this incident, so this had the potential to become an interstellar incident.

Sopek thought it was not too surprising. Captain Archer had rushed and stumbled all over the quadrant, disrespecting local sovereignties. It was a wonder he didn't offend many more governments than this. Perhaps it was to the credit of Humanity's unusual penchant for making friends despite the actions of a few individuals. Certainly, Vulcan diplomats had worked to keep the Klingon Empire from sending a battle fleet to Earth when their courier, Klaang, was shot at Broken Bow.

As soon as the Rigelian ship returned home, Captain Jonathan Archer would learn why he shouldn't be traipsing all over the galaxy, stepping on people's feet and making mistakes that could cost Humanity their homeworld. That possibility almost came true with the Xindi Conflict and it remained to be seen if the Romulans and Minbari would realize that possibility as well.

He wondered if these events didn't foretell Humanity's, or Earth's, status as a magnet for galactic trouble.

On the main viewer, the Rigelian scoutship oriented itself on its course to Coridan. It vanished into its own warp flash.

"Set a course for Vulcan. Warp 4."

Nothing happened.

Confused for a moment, Sopek whirled his command chair toward the officer manning the helm console. She was silently gazing at him.

"What is the meaning of this?"

The officer merely stood and watched Sopek silently.

Arching an eyebrow, Sopek calmly said, "Major Malden, you are risking the charge of insubordination. That is not logical. Follow my orders."

The major still stood silently, giving no indication that she heard Sopek at all. The captain heard the snick and the soft hum of a hand weapon activating behind him.

Turning to the noise's source, Sopek found his instant conclusion to be correct: his executive officer was pointing a particle pistol at him.

"I repeat my question: What is the meaning of this?"

"The charge is treason."

Sopek raised an eyebrow and cocked his head. "I was unaware you have adopted the Human proclivity for the melodramatic. On what basis do you make the charge, Tellus?"

"It would be logical for us to expedite this matter. First, we monitored the Human ship's pursuit of a Rigelian scoutship. We concluded that the Humans were violating the Coalition Compact and moved to intercept them. I must add that you persuaded us to that conclusion and ordered the interception once we agreed."

"I fail to perceive the reason for your actions. _I_ must add that your actions constitute insubordination, even mutiny."

Tellus inclined his head, conceding the point. However, he wasn't finished. "Secondly, we and our sensors were focused on the Enterprise. At that point, the Rigelian ship was still in sensor range, but moving away at high warp. When we learned that the vessel the Humans were pursuing was Romulan, we decided to pursue and apprehend the vessel as well. We quickly found the vessel on our sensors, laying in a different course than previously. During the pursuit, I had to be certain that we were apprehending the correct vessel, so I extrapolated the route it would have taken had it not changed course. I discovered a Vulcan combat cruiser at the approximate coordinates."

Sopek glanced down at Tellus' particle pistol. "I still fail to perceive the reason for this."

Tellus' eyes flicked to the other bridge officers. It was a delicate situation. The Vulcan High Command had never experienced a mutiny on one of its ships.

"The Rigelian ship we apprehended was the same one we escorted from the Coridan border. The Humans informed us that the vessel they were pursuing was a drone-ship of the type that was encountered before the Romulan War. I concluded that the Romulans employed their holographic emitters to disguise themselves as a High Command combat cruiser during our confrontation with the Enterprise."

Sopek leaned back, resting his hands on the command chair's arms. "An error."

Tellus countered, "A choice. Your choice, Captain Sopek."

Two other officers stepped forward to flank the seated Sopek. Major Malden didn't need to announce that the captain was now under arrest.

"It is illogical to resist." Tellus lowered his pistol. "This event has the traits of a conspiracy. I surmise that Lord Cobaryn is involved, but he has diplomatic immunity. Identify your co-conspirators. In exchange, I shall attempt to persuade the High Command to permit your retirement as an alternative to being charged and brought to trial. Sub-commander Loret, record everything said by the prisoner."

"Yes, sir."

Sopek glanced at Tellus. There was a hint of hauteur in the fallen captain. "You cannot prove it."

"On the contrary. We still have the records of the orders to escort the Rigelians, the sensor records. The Vulcan Council will convince the Rigelian Trade Commission to apprehend and question Lord Cobaryn. Logic and his testimony could only give the conclusion that we've extrapolated. The High Command will not look kindly on this incident."

Raising a hand toward the main viewer full of stars, Sopek said, "You have betrayed Vulcan."

An eyebrow jumped on Tellus' forehead. "An interesting point of view. Enlighten us as to why you undertook this action."

"I am trying to save Vulcan. The alliance with Andoria, Earth and Tellar cannot be trusted, Commander. The Andorians still lust for our fall. The Tellarites prefer to look after their own interests. They have proven that when they withdrew all of their military forces from the war with the Minbari. The Humans still resent our superiority. All of them resent our abstinence from the war with the Romulans. The Humans…they have the arrogance of Andorians, the stubborn pride of Tellarites, and too often as driven by emotions as Klingons. History has proven that it takes very little to convince the Humans to transform themselves into an empire. Once transformed, it further takes very little for it to become a repressive regime that rules with a rod of iron." Anger glinted in Sopek's eyes very briefly. "The Syrannites dominating our government prefer to be blind. We are trying to save Vulcan from all that."

"Who is 'we'?"

"The universe was a well-ordered place before the Kir'Shara. We all knew our roles. We have a destiny."

"'Destiny.' An illogical and nebulous concept. You speak of the future. If you weren't Vulcan, I would conclude that you fear the future and the changes it brings." Tellus' eyes glinted with accusation. "Fear…is an emotion."

"We seem to forget that even our internal peace, calm and silence are emotions," Sopek countered. "Our very desire to isolate and remove emotions is an emotion itself."

"I am not qualified to judge your motivations. Sopek, you can still mitigate the offense. Who are your co-conspirators?"

Sopek looked down and up at Tellus. "I do not remember."

Disturbed, Tellus studied the former captain. "Vulcans do not lie. Is that…a lie?"

Sopek stood up. There was no defiance in the set of his jaw, only a calm acceptance even though his standing spoke of defiance. "A choice." Though Sopek's face didn't show any emotion, the crew knew that if he wasn't Vulcan, the captain feeling smug about throwing that word back in Tellus' face.

Commander Tellus came to a conclusion.

Tellus, showing nothing on his face, purposefully approached Sopek. Soon, they could feel each other's breath. They stared into each other's eyes. Commander Tellus raised a hand up toward Sopek's cheek, fingers moving in their inquiry. The captain realized what the commander was going to do. He pulled away, but Tellus grabbed his arm. The older Vulcan still struggled to throw off the commander's grasp. Tellus then grabbed the nape of Sopek's neck and pulled him close.

The bridge crew watched silently and stoically as Sopek widened his eyes in grim anticipation of the mind-meld.

Again, Tellus' fingers moved over the captain's cheek, seeking the katra points. Resistance was illogical. The commander concentrated. Soon, Tellus has delved into Sopek's mind.

Speaking as one, Tellus and Sopek said, "Major Talok."

Major Malden was startled. "It would seem he's not the only one in the High Command with ulterior plans. The V'Shar should be informed immediately." Urgently: "Are there others?"

"Administrator…V'Las."

Now the whole crew stirred at that name. V'Las had vanished in the aftermath of the Kir'Shara's revelation and the fall of his regime. This meant that he was still around, wreaking havoc in the region. "Are you recording this, Sub-commander?" Malden inquired of Loret who replied in the affirmative.

"Admiral…Valdore."

Malden looked at Loret. Their faces were blank. She said, "I do not know of any admiral named Valdore."

Tellus also wanted to know the answer. He delved deeper into Sopek's mind. The captain had thrown up a wall to block Tellus' probing. He shifted his fingers to cover more of the katra points. The wall still blocked him. Still staring into Sopek's eyes, Tellus brought up his other hand to touch the katra points on the other side of the captain's face.

The doubled power of the probing caused Sopek to gasp. The wall held. Tellus pushed harder, causing Sopek to moan in pain. His unblinking eyes began to well up with tears from the effort of resisting the probing.

Slam. Sopek uttered a louder moan. Major Malden winced. As far as she knew, it was the first time they've witnessed the mind meld in such a violating way. Other officers began to show signs of being uneasy with this.

The aging Vulcan man grunted as Tellus slammed harder into the wall. He felt Sopek try desperately to resist. Then a name floated up into Tellus' mind: _Chuihv_. He grabbed at the name, feeling it become part of his knowledge. The commander's eyes widened as he _knew_ that Chuihv was Sopek. He was a double-agent for the Vulcans and the Romulans. Was it possible that the name Valdore was for another such double-agent high up in the High Command ranks?

Still, he wanted to know more. The information about Sopek's double-agent status was intended to distract him. _Who is Valdore?_ Pressing his fingers deeper into the captain's face, Tellus opened up his own primal Vulcan emotions and added it to the power of his assault on Sopek's wall. The captain cried out and Tellus gasped in shared pain. The wall shattered. The intensity of the younger Vulcan's emotion poured down the link into Sopek, transfixing the older Vulcan—open-eyed, open-mouthed, anguished, like a man being burned at the stake in his mind. Then an image came up out of the haze of pain. It was that of a tall muscular man with the hard look characteristic of the Andorian and Human military.

Tellus was puzzled. Except for the unfamiliar checkered uniform, the man appeared Vulcan. Tellus spotted a round window over the unmoving man's shoulder. Through it were the buildings of a large city, its architecture unfamiliar. One of the buildings had a large golden globe on top with a predator bird perched on it. Tellus knew the name of this world: _Romulus._

Gasping, he snapped his attention back to the unmoving Admiral Valdore.

Tellus' fingers came away from Sopek's katra points, breaking the connection. The commander's mouth was still open in the gasp of shock and exhaustion. Sopek, his mouth slack, shuddered and trembled. The aging captain still stared into the commander's eyes, quivering from the whole ordeal.

Commander Tellus brought himself back under control and stepped away from Sopek, tearing his eyes away from the ousted captain.

A heavy silence reigned in the bridge. The crew had been witness to a violation. Tellus walked away, his back straight but his shoulders were now stooped under a burden. He was still reeling from the experience.

Tellus now understood why Rigelians were chosen to deceive: they shared a similar physiology with Vulcans so that they could be properly termed a vulcanoid species. He looked all around at his fellow Vulcans. Were they ready to hear this? Sopek had folded his hands in front of himself and was looking down at the deck, offering nothing for the question. Tellus now bore the burden and the responsibility of the secret.

Some knowledge comes with a high price.

Vulcan's lost brethren have been found.

Reunification.

**Cheron System**

The gray planet was a testimony of the ruin of war.

Cheron was once host to an ancient humanoid civilization that destroyed itself in a civil war. The Cheronites had been evidently concerned with their skin colors. Sub-commander Chulak sighed, watching as his breath fogged the cold glass of the port window, obscuring the dead world, like the fog that rode the winds blowing through its dead cities.

If only the Humans were still as concerned about skin colors so that they destroyed themselves. That would leave the Romulans free to achieve the dream of Reunification without the Coalition in the way. Without the Humans, the Andorians would have gone to war with the Tellarites. Without them, the Vulcans would have conquered Andoria, precipitating a war that would weaken both sides. In such a state of affairs, the Romulan Star Empire would move in to pick up the pieces, save Vulcan from the ruin of war, thereby reuniting the sundered species. All would enjoy the order and progress of the Senate and People of Romulus.

Now war threatened to ruin the dream of Reunification.

Chulak looked over at the dry-dock containing a warbird under construction. Structurally, it was completed. Aesthetically, the artisans were still painting the bird of prey on its underside. Once it was finished, the ship would receive a name from the Senate. This tradition was enacted only when the Empire was in a state of war. Beyond, he could see other dry-docks and warships in various stages of construction.

Ever since the debacle with the telepresence drone-ship program before the Earth War, Chulak studied the Humans. Other Romulans didn't share his fascination with their enemy. The sub-commander had reasoned that to understand the enemy is to more easily defeat the enemy. Nonetheless, he didn't understand why the Humans needed to highlight the comedic exploits of a red-haired housewife or four elderly women living together, or to focus on the clearly fictional adventures of a military organization utilizing a ring-shaped matter transmission device, or to watch as a Human race is slaughtered and forced into a space-based nomadic life by bipedal machines, or to observe sporting events that had no apparent purpose aside from leisure. The strangest and most interesting was the notion that Humanity could one day master the very fabric of time and space; however the fact that the machine of such power would look like an old wooden blue box made it more laughable than terrifying.

Still, one could learn a great deal from a race's modes of entertainment.

Behind Chulak, the circular double-layered door slid apart. To his surprise, he found Admiral Valdore standing in the doorway with a scowl on his square-jawed face. As always, Chulak felt intimidated by the admiral's hulking size and powerful build. The larger Romulan man strode around the large round table in the room.

"Where is _Khre'riov_ Lasus?"

Snapping to attention, Chulak replied, "He is preparing for the briefing, _Daise'Khre'Enriov_." The sub-commander made sure to pronounce the admiral's rank properly. In Human terms, Valdore would be Principal Senior Commander-General, or Chief Fleet Admiral. Despite the failure of the telepresence drone-ship program before the war and his subsequent arrest and imprisonment, Valdore had returned to the Imperial Fleet and become powerful as the war progressed. Offending him would not reflect well on Chulak, his family or on his patron-sponsor, Admiral Lasus.

"Good. The briefing will be quite educational."

The sub-commander dared not look up at the admiral. He refused to wonder for whom it would be educational.

"I have heard of your…interest in the Humans, _Erei'riov_ Chulak." Valdore gave Chulak a smile that was just a shade warmer than any expression that he usually wore.

Chulak's back stiffened. The admiral may be the supreme commander of the war, but he wouldn't tolerate any mockery of his honor. _Mnhei'sahe_. "_Daise'Khre'Enriov_, did not the Imperial War College teach to study the enemy for weaknesses and to exploit them?"

"Be at ease, _erei'riov_. I agree and I'm using it."

The smaller man was relieved.

"It is perhaps fortunate that you have aligned with Lasus' family." Valdore's tone was carefully neutral. Then his tone became slightly warmer: "His father, _Deihu_ Mezen was one of my mentors."

Chulak was suitably impressed. Senator Mezen was an Imperial Hero: He was the key figure in making Romii, the white dwarf star system distantly orbiting the Romulan System, a major base of the Star Empire; he won battles in the campaigns to imperialize the colonies Chaltok and Sotarek soon after the Vulcan ship T'sannu was shot down over Romulus; and he participated in the conquest of the Reticulan homeworld in Tranome Sar. Now he understood why the admiral was being neutral about his association with Mezen's son: Lasus had to live up to his father's legacy, which he had yet to do.

The round door slid open. Admiral Lasus stepped through and looked up, startled. Valdore smoothly bowed his head and gestured toward the table. Behind Lasus, Senator Vrax gave Valdore an aristocratic sour look before turning to the table. Senator Colius, coming from behind, took note of this exchange and took a seat between him and Valdore. His aide, Commander Galathon nodded his respects to Valdore and Chulak. Following him was Military Tribune Soterus who quickly seated himself at the table without waiting for the others. He was escorted by Praetorian Guardsman Sorus. The governor of Cheron would be busy managing the urgent fleet constructions in the system, so she couldn't be here.

This was the most powerful gathering of officials outside Romulus. If the Coalition knew, this would be the opportunity to strike a blow to the Romulan hierarchy. Unlike the Tal'Shiar, none of the allied enemies had agents in the other side. Added to that was the protection of a large fleet in the Cheron System, so Valdore was not too worried about an assassination strike. Still, guards and security checks were used throughout the space station.

Of all the newcomers, Chulak was the most impressed with Senator Colius. The silver-haired old man was one of the very few Praetors to retire long before dotage or death took them. He led the Star Empire through the Imperialization Crisis before surrendering the Praetorate. Nowadays, he spent his time sitting and observing the doings of the Senate and using his skilled oratory to influence while refusing offers of other powers like the consulship. Why, he even refused the position of Imperial Legate whose rank stood only between the Empress and the Praetor though the power was ceremonial. Empress T'Lel IV herself held him in regard high enough to create the Praetor Colius Award to be awarded to worthy senators.

Tribune Soterus took out a white lagga flower from underneath his cloak and tossed it onto the center of the table. It had thorns on the stem and the head was crowded with petals. Chulak was surprised at this very traditional gesture. In ancient times, the white lagga was hung or painted on the ceiling as a sign that anything said in councils or under the influence of alcohol was to be kept confidential. The sub-commander wondered at the unnecessary need to point out that the briefing was secret. He concluded that Soterus was influenced by the manners of the Imperial Court. Was Soterus advertising his proximity to the Empress?

Senator Vrax was frowning at the lagga flower. Clearly, he didn't care much for Soterus' advertisement of Courtly influence. He looked at the men around the round table. "Did you get the news about Xerius?"

A scowl flicked across Valdore's face. Some of it was directed at Lasus. "I would have thought that _Afvillhei_ Xerius learned from his military experience enough to follow orders." Valdore's refusal to acknowledge Governor Xerius' military rank was a mark of his disappointment. This disappointment also extended to Admiral Lasus who had given the orders for Xerius to go into Coalition space. "Instead, he got greedy. The price: a small fleet and hundreds of good Rihannsu soldiers!"

As he took a breath to calm himself, Valdore took comfort in the fact that the governor of Rhei'Ilhne managed to take down the entire Starfleet force at the Dulisian System with him. So it wasn't a total loss.

Cynically, he thought that it troubled the Senate only as far as forcing them to name a new governor for Romulus' farthest colony. Admiral Valdore said, "Even so, Xerius has exposed a weakness in our ships. I've ordered the Imperial Fleet to line the hulls with kelbonite, a refractory metal capable of deflecting or interfering with scans and the transporter, and magnesite, a mineral which can interfere with sensor and transporter functions."

The others in the meeting indicated their agreement by gesturing or commenting positively.

"We have the updated battle plan for Andoria." The main viewer on the wall between the door and the port window activated. "The assault force will consist of Fleet III Devron, Fleet IX Romii and Fleet VI Inaieu. The plan is to hit the system in two waves. Fleet III will approach from the Galactic Rimward." The main viewer changed to a simulation of the assault.

Lasus bowed. "Thank you, _Daise'Khre'Enriov_." 

Chulak wondered that if he succeeded, he would reap great honors. He didn't like to think what would happen if the attack failed. After all, he was Lasus' aide and therefore associated with whatever happens to Lasus.

Valdore continued speaking. "My assignment, Fleet IX will attack from the Galactic Coreward. Its objective will be this structure." Pressing a command, he caused the main viewer to zoom into the depicted star system. Hanging against the backdrop of a ringed ice-colored gas giant was four struts with what appeared to be a series of solar panels running down each of the struts. It had the look of a dry-dock, but the structure didn't seem to be a cohesive piece, which was unsafe for starship construction. If Chulak's judgment was right, the structure was much too large to be a dry-dock when compared to the ships scattered around the gas giant Andor.

"What is it?" wondered Soterus aloud.

"Intelligence suggests a new technology for interstellar travel. If possible, we will capture it for study. If that proves difficult, we will destroy it."

Vrax frowned as he studied the placement of enemy vessels around Andor. "Some of those ships aren't Andorian. Or Hevamsu."

Chulak could see them: a few ships that appeared blocky. Several of them were even shaped like bricks. One of them appeared to be quite large and keeping station by the dry-dock-like structure.

Tribune Soterus leaned forward with interest. "The Tal'Shiar has received intelligence of a new ally that the Hevamsu found. Apparently, it is another Hevamsu star-faring nation. I believe we encountered some of their ships during our attack on the Hevamsu colony at Qualor."

Lasus frowned uneasily. "Like it is with us and the Vuhlkansu?"

"Possibly. Except that they call themselves the Earth Alliance."

"Maybe they're a lost colony?" wondered Senator Vrax aloud.

"Be as it may, _Deihu_," interjected Valdore. "Qualor revealed that the ships of this 'Earth Alliance' are slow and difficult to maneuver. _Arrain_ Telvor should be returning to Rihannsu space soon with detailed intelligence on this race. Still, I believe we can handle them."

Lasus leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table, eyes alight. "We could use the main plasma cannon on our warbirds to take them out."

Chulak smiled in anticipation of seeing those bars of white hot light spearing through enemy vessels, killing them instantly. Xerius had tried using the one on his warbird, but not effectively even though he had speared a Starfleet vessel with it. Valdore's reply soon dispelled the anticipation.

"The plasma cannon technology was intended to be used in ships far more advanced than we are capable of building, with a far greater energy reserve. Firing them uses virtually all the ship's power. So they should be used as a last resort. We must choose our time and place wisely." Valdore glared pointedly at Lasus for a moment. "Once fired, the warbird cannot navigate or fire other weapons for up to a minute, depending on the power channeled from the fusion reactor. There's barely enough power to maintain artificial gravity. This leaves the ship vulnerable. A lot can happen in a minute."

Soterus' expression tightened. "Even so, we will use whatever means at our disposal to defeat the Coalition and achieve Reunification."

The other men silently looked at the tribune, very conscious of his escort, Sorus, whose hand now hovered near the sword at his belt, the only weapon permitted in the chamber. As Military Tribune, Soterus was a representative of Praetor Lai. In Earth terms, Military Tribunes were the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the head of state. Therefore, he was answerable only to the Praetor and the Empress, and that was reinforced by the presence of Sorus who was a member of the Praetorian Guard. As shown in his use of the lagga flower, it was likely he frequented the Imperial Court itself. Soterus looked at Valdore and said, "Continue."

"Fleets III and IX will enter the system at the ninth hour on the 15th of Tasmeen," the Romulan Fleet Admiral said as he directed the display on the main viewer to reflect his briefing. "Fleet VI, coming straight from Pvarto, will enter the system thirty minutes after the ninth hour." Pvarto was the Andorian name for Gamma Virginis. Until a colony could be founded and named by the Senate, the Romulans would use that name. "_Riov_ Galathon will lead Fleet VI."

At that, Captain Galathon bowed his thanks.

"The fleet will be escorting troop transports for the invasion."

The men exchanged looks of surprise. Lasus wondered aloud, "Is that wise? This is the Andorian homeworld we're talking about. Any force attempting an invasion of Andoria would be up to its neck in blood—its own! If they don't freeze first!"

"We have no intention of fighting them on their homeworld. We will use atomics on the major regions. Most of our troops will land at the Northern Wastes and take the Aenar cities. Since the Aenar are pacifists, we can move in at leisure."

Senator Vrax, along with the others, was reeling from the enormity of the plan. "We've used atomics on the outlying enemy colonies and outposts, but never on a world with almost a billion inhabitants! Even if we removed the main resistance points, just holding the ice planet will be more trouble than it's worth."

Senator Colius agreed. "The Star Empire cannot afford nor would tolerate a quagmire. We might end up creating a wasteland to achieve peace."

Valdore bowed his head to the senator. "_Deihu_, Andoria's worth is only in breaking the enemy's morale. We will continue bombing the planet until the government surrenders. If they value their citizens' lives, they have to surrender. If not…." The admiral looked at the lagga flower. Was there regret in Valdore? "Havrannsu troops will counter any resistance given by the Andorians and the less pacific Aenar. We will keep only the Aenar cities only as long as we could transport all of the inhabitants to ch'Havran for our use. After Andoria, the Andorians will have only the colonies at Beta Hydri, Yadalla, Weytahn and Draken. Without the homeworld to support them, the colonies can't stand on their own. After the war, we could use the planet as a penal colony."

He caused the main viewer to zoom out of the Andorian System until the area around Gamma Virginis could be seen. A new green arrow appeared below those stabbing at Andoria, this time moving toward another star system below Gamma Virginis. "In relation to Draken, Fleet II Aidoann and Fleet IV Devron will deploy in a diversionary attack at Draken before we break orbit for the assault on Andoria. That will draw forces away from Andoria. The orders for them are that if the resistance is not too strong, they are to destroy the Draken colony." Valdore gave everyone a level look. "Study your assignments, officers. We can't afford mistakes." He stood, a clear indication that the briefing was over. The other men stood as well. "We leave for Pvarto at the second hour tomorrow. Remember, gentlemen, we are living in a time when we could finally achieve Reunification. The Elements grant that future generations will recall us just as we recall the Tel'laa'vor."

Chulak's chest swelled in patriotic pride. Tel'laa'vor was an epic poem composed by Japell during the reign of the Ruling Queen T'Rehu. It told of the founding of the Romulan people, their Exodus from Vulcan, their landing on Romulus as well as the conquest of Remus. It was the story of legends, of heroes overcoming adversity, enemies and even nature itself. Every Romulan child knew the story. As such, the words of Tel'laa'vor were treated almost as scripture even though it wasn't considered divinely inspired.

In all his studies of the Humans, Chulak could find only the Aeneid for comparison. A pale comparison, in his personal opinion.

"If all goes well," stated Valdore, "we will need not worry about the Andorian Empire anymore. After Andoria, we'll have only the Hevamsu to overcome in our way to Reunification."

**Quadrant 14**

**Narn Regime**

Nobody told her that she would be dealing with children instead of diplomats.

If she was Human, Ambassador V'Lar of Vulcan would have thrown up her arms in disgust and stormed out of the conference room long ago. Certainly, she felt tempted to nerve-pinch the two primary "negotiators." For a brief moment, she allowed herself to imagine the stunned expression on the faces of Londo Mollari and G'Kar as they are temporarily put out of their misery.

She glanced across the table at the empty chair. The Earth commercial telepath had some time ago excused herself, showing signs of distress, perhaps a headache. V'Lar had learned that intense emotion in close proximity was hard to block and telepaths need breaks. It was not surprising with the bickering representatives present. Still, Talia Winters was needed to peel away Londo's and G'Kar's lies and secrets until they are both left with the logical conclusion that they are better served by an amicable agreement than by conflict. Though, as long as the diplomats shouted themselves hoarse, what was the point?

"Gentlemen," she interrupted in a voice that was carefully measured. "We have ranged far from the point of the discussions." And indeed they had. G'Kar of Narn had spent much of the morning in a tirade about the Centauri failure to make amends for their rule on Narn, while Ambassador Mollari, representing the Centauri Republic, countered with arguments that revolved around Narn "terrorism" and their lack of respect for the Centauri border. As was all too common with emotional beings, when their logic failed, they raised their voices. The present disagreement had escalated into a shouting match. They had been repeating their points over the past 2.3 hours. Both sides had stopped listening to each other long ago. Perhaps they never listened to each other right from the beginning of their historical interaction.

"Regarding the matter at hand," V'Lar continued with a patient look at both representatives, "the Narn representative has yet to discuss the Centauri proposal for a cessation of hostilities, a resettlement of borders and a peace treaty."

"That's because it isn't a proposal!" G'Kar snapped, his red eyes flashing. "It's a demand!"

Londo's hair crest trembled in his anger. "Narn ships have been crossing the border! These unprovoked attacks must stop!"

V'Lar almost sighed. She wondered once more whether this negotiation was a complete waste of time. Briefly, only a heartbeat long, she entertained the notion of using the Vulcan High Fleet to force an agreement. V'Lar immediately dismissed that as counterproductive. They had tried a variation of that before the Battle of Signet and the moment the High Fleet was distracted, the Narns and Centauri regressed. She also wondered whether it would be better for the Narns and Centauri to go to war with each other, vent all of their emotions, their hatred and their bloodlust until they are exhausted into peace. However, that wouldn't be conducive to the efforts to gain diplomatic influence for the Vulcan Confederacy and to generate assistance for the Earth Alliance in its war with the Minbari. Besides, considering their mutual history, it was highly likely they might continue fighting until both sides are extinct, possibly pulling neighboring worlds into the conflict.

"The attacks will stop when the Centauri government stops sending hostile ships across the border into Narn space!"

"You took Ragesh 3 and Quadrant 37! They're supposed to be our conduit for trade! That's in the treaty! What possible reason is there for the slaughter of unarmed civilians?"

"Curious! We wondered the same thing when you invaded our world. The wheel turns, does it not, Ambassador?"

"Faugh! We should have wiped out your kind when we had the chance!"

"What happened? Run out of small children to eat?"

"Gentlemen!" V'Lar interrupted again, her voice hard and demanding attention. As one, their eyes turned to her and she let a silent moment pass as she gave appraising looks at both of them. V'Lar indulged in a momentary fantasy of spreading the teachings of Surak among both races' governments. "The purpose of these negotiations is not to discuss the failings of the past, but to focus on the future."

"The Centauri has a record of expecting us to fall in line! They impose treaties on us by force!" G'Kar immediately pointed out.

"That's because if we don't, you'll keep taking planets from us!"

"That's because your time has come and gone! It's our turn now! One night, you'll wake up and find our teeth at _your_ throat!"

"Augh!" Londo spread his arms in a dramatic gesture of disgust, before thrusting a finger at the Narn. "Keep this up, G'Kar, and you'll push us too far! When that happens, you won't have a planet to protect!"

Ambassador V'Lar almost sighed again. She let her eyes wander over to the window at the stars. She could see the planet and the Narn space station of Quadrant 14. Some Humans had commented that the planet looked like someone tried to invent a pizza ball and got messy in the process. That sounded like a most unflattering description, whatever a pizza was. The space station, however, looked formidable. It had three arms extending from the central dome, though their undersides were connected by what appeared to be an upside down city with no streets or windows. A Narn heavy cruiser was docked at one of the arms. Several Narn Frazi-class fighters were making their patrol rounds. The Narn had proudly said that it'd take a large Centauri fleet to defeat the station's defenses, and the Centauri, for once, agreed.

They were on the Vulcan command ship Shirasna. The rest of the Vulcan fleet that survived the battle at Signet was in the system. That was the concession the Vulcan Council made to Emperor Turhan to insure the safety of his representatives in a Narn-held star system. That had the added benefit of maintaining the illusion that they were on neutral territory for this negotiation.

She blinked in momentary surprise as the local jumpgate visibly activated. There wasn't any arrival in the schedule.

The energy generated by the enigmatic mineral Quantium 40 flashed and crackled in sequence down the jumpgate's struts. The energies converged and tore a hole through the film of reality separating the hell-colored maelstrom of hyperspace from normal space. V'Lar knew there was nothing gentle about the process. It was a barely contained explosion of energy lethal to anything foolish enough to get in the way.

Many ships came out of the vortex in quick order. Starfleet, Andorian, EarthForce, even Vulcan ships made up what was quickly apparent as a large allied armada. The size and the composition of the fleet surprised even the worldly Ambassador V'Lar. Starfleet had sent an NX, NWs, Neptunes and Deltas. The Andorians had their top ships of the line in the armada—only the ships guarding Andoria were better. The Earth Alliance outnumbered the Coalition forces with Olympi, Hyperions, Novas, Artemises, even the upgraded Olympi called the Delos. Dispersed throughout the fleet were Vulcan Suurok, Surak, Kir, and Maymora classes ships. There was even a command ship of the same type as the Shirasna. It was then she noticed that some of the Earth ships were small, boxy atmosphere-capable craft resembling Earth's 20th and 21st century heavy military air transports but with the wings folded for space flight.

It was an invasion force.

Almost unnoticed, the two antagonistic ambassadors had stopped their argument to observe the event with widening eyes.

V'Lar didn't hesitate. She smoothly rose to her feet, drawing everyone's attention.

"I recommend a recess," she said, her voice tone accepting no disagreement. "Let us adjourn for today." Already, she was striding out of the room, not waiting to see how Londo and G'Kar reacted.

-/\-

Sonovar of Minbar gazed at the image of the massive force gathered within. He frowned at the Vulcan ships that could be seen in the enemy fleet. _"Where is this? What is the meaning of this?"_

"It's at Quadrant 14 right now. Doesn't this mean the Narn are colluding against you, hmmm?"

The Minbari looked down, frowning. It was indeed troubling. _"Londo Mollari, what would you have us do?"_

The Centauri diplomat glanced sideway at the port window. The quarters that the Vulcans provided him on their ship were Spartan, yet elegant. Still, he'd prefer the ostentation of Centauri noble quarters any day. He turned back to the tachyon communication console that the Vulcans installed for their guests. He made sure that the encryptions were still running and secure. "They are selling stolen weapons to the Earthers. Now they're opening their space to your enemies. They need to be punished!"

Sonovar lifted his head, his eyes becoming hooded as he looked down his nose. _"We know your motivation for bringing this to our attention. The Narns have been attacking your border worlds and outposts. You wish us to do your job for you."_

"The Narns are trouble-makers. By selling weapons stolen from us, they would have you attack the Centauri Republic—"

"_How is that different from what you are doing now?"_ retorted Sonovar.

Londo had to take a deep breath to prevent himself from screaming at this thick-headed Minbari. Maybe their head bone had something to do with their brain capacity. "The difference, my dear Sonovar, is that we Centauri strive for peace and order. Have not the Centauri Republic pursued trade and diplomacy all these years since our empire fell? The Narns would see the whole galaxy burn and take advantage of it by conquering their own empire in the ruins."

"_Again, what would you have us to do?"_

The Centauri raised a wagging finger. "Ah now we get to the core of the conversation, my friend. If we use the Royal Navy to punish them, there will be war. Such a war would be disastrous not only for both sides, but also for most of the neighbors around us. Emperor Turhan does not wish for that to happen. If you would do some of the punishment, the Narns wouldn't dare go to war. Oh, they'll bluster and wail about the unfairness of facing your wonderful warcruisers, but they'll stop harassing the galaxy. _And_ you'll be able to protect yourself from your enemies at the same time." Londo grinned, revealing sharp teeth, and nodded vigorously. "That is hitting two rocks with one bird, yes?"

"_What?"_ Now the Minbari man was confused.

Waving a hand dismissively, Londo amended, "Oh, just one of those Human sayings. Never mind that. They never make sense."

Sonovar seemed to be thinking. If he believed Londo and reported to his superiors, the Narn Regime would be added to the list of enemies that the Minbari needed to punish, as well as help eliminating the armada's threat._ "What's the destination of the fleet?"_

Londo personally regretted this. Doing this would prolong the war and would compound the error he made that disrupted the peace negotiations between the Humans and Minbari at Epsilon. But Centauri Prime took precedence over all. If he didn't do anything, the Narns through the demon G'Kar would manipulate the Coalition into smashing their way through Centauri space to Minbari territory. In the wake of that fleet, Narn ships would follow to pick up the pieces, gain planets in Centauri space, thereby gaining half the distance to Centauri Prime itself. Even if the Coalition left the Centauri alone as they went through their territory, the Narns would pretend to join their fleet only to make surprise attacks at Centauri colonies.

And the painful thing of it all was that the Emperor was likely to do not one thing about it. It was up to Londo to do his patriotic duty. What's one more secret to regret? The memory of G'Kar's insults burned. "Sonovar, the fleet's—"

The door to his quarters slid open. Londo whirled around, opening his mouth to shout at the rude interruption.

Four Vulcan security officers flanked a Starfleet admiral and a Centauri Royal Guardsman. They walked in and leveled their pistols squarely at Londo. "Lord Mollari, you are under arrest," said the Guardsman.

Sonovar could see everything happening. Immediately, he cut the communication link. The screen went dark.

"On what charges?" cried Londo.

The admiral stepped forward. "Espionage, endangerment of lives, murder by proxy, treason."

"WHAT?!" Londo couldn't believe it. The Royal Guardsman was stepping forward and held out a rolled parchment in his immaculate white glove. Keeping the parchment rolled and closed was a yellow cord tied with an intricately complex knot. A gold-flecked red wax seal had been pressed onto the knot. Londo's eyes widened. The Yellow Warrant. A warrant signed by the Emperor himself.

Londo couldn't breathe. The document signified the fall of House Mollari. According to Centauri law, if he's found guilty of treason, Londo would be executed and the properties of his House would be confiscated by the government unless the guilty party falls on his sword.

He really couldn't breathe. The room seemed to be closing in on him. A tight burning pressure gripped his chest. The end of House Mollari. He winced as he grabbed the elbow of his right arm. Shooting pain. A hand seemed to be squeezing his chest until there was blooming pain.

Londo Mollari collapsed.


	26. Amber Alert

_grayangle: The end of Londo? He might live to play an important role in the war...or he may not live. ;)_

_Worker72: Sopek was a spy, but was he Romulan? As for Andoria, there's something tempting about Admiral Valdore's plans for that planet... Teehehe_

_Steven Kodaly: I figured that House Mollari and Centauri Prime would be important enough for Londo to have a coronary over. I have not worked out the details of the Romulan Imperial economy. I find myself attracted to the fic 'Star Trek: Dagger' in that respect. In other words, I would agree with that story's writer that the Romulan economy is similar to that of the Roman Republic. In other words, we'd see unscrupulous businessmen and companies squeezing as much money as possible out of the provinces while using slave labor for production. At this point, the Allies have not been into Romulan space so the only way they could hurt their pocketbook is to force them to replace warships again and again and again ad nauseam._

_The Sithspawn: Thanks! We'll see about Londo. (evil giggle) Yes, I have battles planned for soon._

_Bien Canonizado: I'm doing well, thanks! Captain Bien Cain will make his debut when Captain Archer and his ship goes into Coridan space. I think you'll like him._

_Lorelai Gilmore: I have not forgotten about telepaths at all. As you will all see, they will be a factor in the Battle of Andor. Indeed, one of Admiral Valdore's goals in attacking Andoria is getting more telepaths for his drone-ship program. At this point, the Shadows have not woken. However, the Drakh and other Shadow servants are awake on Z'ha'dum. It's possible, even likely, that some of them are watching this war. Remember the temporal agent Daniels and his showing Archer possible futures for the Federation? In one of the possible futures, we'd have Shadows devastating the Federation and its universe. In this story, the future balances on the edge of the blade and it could fall either way._

_JC: This constitutes a spoiler: John Sheridan won't be in the Battle of Andor, but he will be in a battle that's part of Operation Medea. And I'm not saying anything more than that. ;)_

_JovianJeff: Thanks! That's partly what I was striving for._

_To everyone else, thanks for reading the story and commenting on it! Now on with the show!_

**Amber, Tau Ceti IV**

**Tau Ceti System, Vulcan Confederacy**

A spinning galactic disc filled everything before collapsing in a starburst. Gold-edged red letters tumbled out of the starburst and spelled out 'Breaking News' while music swelled. A female voiceover announcer spoke.

"_This is the United Earth Subspace News Network."_ The red letters broke and spun around, creating the terminus of a wormhole which expanded to reveal a man and a woman seated at a desk in front of a panorama window looking out at a busy city street. _"Reporting live from the ESN headquarters in New York City, your hosts Diane Simmons and Tom Tucker."_

The anchorwoman spoke first._ "Good evening. The focus of this evening's Breaking News is the United Earth starship Enterprise which had assaulted a Rigelian ship and caused an interstellar incident. We'll have that story later in the broadcast."_

The anchorman took up the story. _"President Thorpe announced today that the combined fleet that we saw going into the Rift is intended for a strike into Minbari space itself. Code-named Operation Medea, it is the brainchild of the Earth Alliance government and military designed to give the Allies breathing space in the Minbari Theater of the war. As of this moment, the fleet's trajectory and destination are classified, but the Subspace News Network, in collusion with the Earth Alliance's Interstellar Network News, have received rumors that it has been sighted going through Dra'Shii, a star system controlled by the Narn Regime. The Narn government's involvement in the operation could only be speculated at this point."_

Tom looked over to his fellow anchorperson. Diane, taking the cue, said, _"Meanwhile, the Earth Alliance has sent an Explorer-class ship to the Andorian homeworld with a heavy military escort."_

A box appeared over Diane's shoulder. It showed an Explorer against the backdrop of an ice-colored ringed gas giant and large moons. The metal grey ship was mostly a long open framework with a rotating habitat section amidships. Some panels at the front section and at the rear engine section were painted in stripes of yellow and red. The name 'Cortez' could be seen emblazoned on one of the front panels. A 360-meter-long Andorian warship flew past the Explorer, giving a sense of the vessel's huge size.

"_The 3 kilometer-long vessel is designed to explore, conduct research in deep space, and to build jumpgates. The Andorian Parliament has contracted the vessel to build a jumpgate in orbit of Andor, the gas giant around which Andoria orbits. It has been speculated that the jumpgate construction and the considerable military escort provided by EarthForce was part of a deal which included Andorian involvement in Operation Medea. Spokespeople for EarthForce and the Andorian Imperial Guard refuse to confirm this."_

Tom added, _"We remind our viewers that Romulan-occupied Pvarto in Gamma Virginis is less than five light-years away from the Andorian System. This could be the major factor in EarthForce providing warships to escort the gate-builder ship. This may be the factor for the Romulans deciding to make probing raids in the neighborhood of the Draken System. The Andorian Imperial Guard has responded by drawing ships away from the Yadalla System. Sources in the Imperial Guard tell us they're expecting an assault on Draken which is much closer to Gamma Virginis than Andor—a little over one light-year away."_

Diane nodded at Tom's reminder. _"And now for the Breaking News story. The famed United Earth starship Enterprise violated the Coalition Compact by assaulting the Rigelian Trade Commission scoutship Kalar. Apparently, the Enteprise's captain, Jonathan Archer, believed the scoutship to be a Romulan ship in disguise. Despite protests by the Rigelian captain, Lord Cobaryn, and by the captain of a Vulcan ship in the area, Captain Sopek, Captain Archer proceeded to board the scoutship. Lord Cobaryn and his passenger, Coridan Ambassador Lekev protested their mistreatment and the violation of the Coalition Compact."_

Tom Tucker's face seemed to subtly show disapproval. _"Needless to say, Captain Archer's action has caused an interstellar incident. Over the past several years, the Thorpe Administration has attempted to bring more of the Coalition worlds into assisting us in the war with the Romulans. The United Rigel Colonies is a key trade partner in the Coalition of Planets. Through it, the Coalition conducts much of its commerce with the outside galaxy. Coridan is a key Coalition member world whose starships are reputed to rival the Vulcan ships in their speed. If true, Coridan technology could greatly assist the war efforts against the Romulans and Minbari. Astropolitically, Coridan provides a link between the Allies and the Rigel Colonies."_

"_As a result of this crisis,"_ put in Diane, _"Coridan Chancellor Kalev Askara and her highest ranking general, Marshal Kurvi Tasch, have allowed the Coridan people to organize protest demonstrations in front of the Vulcan embassy. The Coridan government has refused to answer our inquiries."_

"_Consequently,"_ continued Tom Tucker, _"the Rigelians and Coridanites are no longer open to the idea of direct military participation. Needless to say, this crisis, if exacerbated by further failures, has the potential to spell the end of the Coalition of Planets. Diane, it would be ironic if Captain Archer, a key figure in the formation of the Coalition, turns out to be the author of the Coalition's end. He would therefore be responsible for the Allied worlds' difficulties in the war from this point on."_

"_Yes, Tom, it would. The Rigelian Trade Commission has demanded compensation from Starfleet and the arrest of Jonathan Archer, currently in the Tau Ceti System—"_

The screen went dark.

"See what you've caused here?"

Jonathan Archer scowled at the blank screen and looked back at the man holding a remote control. "Colonel Picard, they're being alarmists. They say the incident with the Kalar is 'breaking news' but they delayed in telling it! And why does this Tom character keep saying 'needless to say'? If it's needless to say, then why say it anyway? Besides, they got their information wrong. Sopek didn't protest when we boarded the Kalar. I didn't board the ship myself—T'Pol did."

The eyebrows beneath Picard's curly brown hair drew together in a frown. "You ordered the boarding. Don't try to shift the blame. It's…very unbecoming of an officer."

"I'm not! I'm…." Archer's shoulders slumped. "What have I done to deserve this? They've just decided it's time to fling mud at me. They didn't say that Sopek helped us hunt down the ship and bring it to heel after his 'protest'! They didn't even include the fact that Sopek was removed from command by the crew of the Ni'Var right after this. What about our successful use of Haradin technology to increase the Enterprise's warp speed? That's a bonus for us, yet there's nothing about it in the news!" A thought occurred to him and he looked up to Georges Emilé Picard. "Operation Medea was supposed to be classified, isn't it?"

The MACO Colonel sat down at a table, speared a slice of Kaferian apple with a Vulcan dipping fork and caught the slice with his teeth. The apple resembled a pomegranate and had dark seeds inside. The Enterprise's captain knew that the apple came from Tau Ceti III, primarily a Vulcan colony, though it had an indigenous insectoid species called the Kaferians. Archer momentarily wondered why he was being debriefed by a MACO colonel rather than a Starfleet officer. Was Starfleet distancing itself way from him? Maybe that's why Picard wasn't offering any of the apple slices. He's fallen out of favor.

"Captain Archer, there have been rumors going around ever since our part of the Medea fleet was sighted going through the Rift. Some of the stories are twisted and…damaging. There was one that said that Starfleet's pulling ships away from the front for the fleet because they made a deal with the Romulans."

Archer could only stare at Picard in disbelief.

"Yes, _mon capitaine_. The so-called deal was to make sure that certain colonies are made vulnerable enough for Romulan conquest. A crazy form of appeasement, if you will. As you can see, the President was forced to make his announcement." Pushing the plate of Kaferian apple aside, Picard leaned forward, elbows on the table. "We're getting off the point here. You're right. The news is being alarmist, but they're not too far from the truth. Coridan and Rigel are becoming unfriendly to us. We want you to go to Coridan to defuse the tensions. I cannot emphasize Coridan's importance enough. If we lose Coridan, we lose Rigel."

Archer stalked over to a window. In one direction, he could see that two rivers flowed downstream, holding the city in between until they joined into one river. In the opposite direction, the high wall of a glacier edge could be seen over the yellowish-green land, feeding the rivers which from beneath the glacial ice. Tau Ceti IV had an Ice Age environment, similar to Earth's Pleistocene Era as compared to Tau Ceti III's greenhouse-like Mesozoic Era.

"Why you?"

Picard looked at Archer sideways. "_Pardonez moi_?"

"I mean no disrespect, but why am I being debriefed by a…" Archer paused, conscious of the rank differences.

"…a MACO Colonel," finished Picard.

"Yes, sir."

"I'm just conveniently here."

That puzzled Archer.

Picard waved his hand dismissively. "I came here with the president of the United Earth Space Probe Agency. Madame Almashad and her aide are friends of mine. They will brief you on a mission later. Now this particular briefing is classified."

"Sir." Archer curtly nodded his assent.

"Starfleet Command is worried about Coridan. Specifically, we're worried about a possible future clash with that world. Over the past several years, Coridan has been making slow but steady annexations of unoccupied Kriosian planets, including the dilithium mining planet of Selka. Their military have also recently occupied several Tiburonian rebel colonies. Starfleet wants intelligence reports on that."

The orders seemed to be contradictory to Archer. First, they told him to go and calm things down at Coridan. Now they're ordering him to be a spy, a most inflammatory position if he's caught. "How am I getting that while defusing tensions at the same time?"

"Delicately, Captain. Delicately. There's a rumor that Coridan is close to developing a Warp 7 engine."

Archer gaped in surprise. Warp seven! His father worked hard on the Warp Five program. That was quite an achievement for Earth, but it had been overshadowed by superior Vulcan technology. The Vulcan Suurok-class ships could travel at warp six point five. He realized the implications. If Coridan successfully developed a Warp 7 engine and shared the technology, the Coalition would have the necessary speed and distance in addition to the jumpgates to strike deep into Romulan space and end the war much more quickly. Only one problem….

"Coridan is grabbing planets, isn't it? What are we going to do about that?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Oh, of course, we'll lodge the necessary protests, but we won't take actions, as long as they're not doing it against us. Two wars are enough. We want Coridan on our side against the Romulans. Keeping Rigel and Coridan in the Coalition, and achieving the Warp 7 technology are very important."

What the colonel was talking about was appeasement for the sake of anti-Romulan military expediency! Jonathan Archer went back to the window. Looking up, he could see the reason for the Humans of Tau Ceti IV accepting Vulcan sovereignty. Three comets were visible even in the day sky. He knew that he would see more comets in the sky as the sun set. The Tau Ceti System contained ten times more asteroids and comets than the Sol System. The Vulcans, having colonized the third planet long ago, had set up a defense network to prevent most of these materials from crashing into the inner orbits at uncomfortably high rates. Submitting to the authority of the Vulcan Confederacy was a small price for the Human colonists of the fourth planet to pay for survival.

Was that a sign that survival would dictate everything that Humanity did? Including appeasement?

He looked back at Picard. "Appeasement, Colonel? Is that what we've come to? Haven't we learned the lesson with Hitler?"

The Frenchman winced. "That won't be necessary. Vulcan Intelligence reports Marshal Kurvi Tasch is ill, likely dying. He's the author of much of the regime at Coridan, so we believe the aggression will stop, even roll back, when he dies."

Jonathan Archer took that fact in.

"I'll do it."

**Starbase 3 (under construction)**

**In orbit around Tau Ceti IV**

A gong sounded and the glittering doors made to look like they came from a Vulcan temple slid open to reveal a huge silver staircase disappearing up into a cloud of white smoke. Out of the wispy cloud and down the stairs came two rows of beautiful women. The lovely ladies were a mix of races from all over the Coalition, except for the Vulcans as a matter of course: Andorians, Antarans, Coridanites, Denobulans, an Eska, Humans, Kriosians, a Mazarite, two Risans, a Takret, a Tandaran, Tellarites and a Xyrillian. They wore identical clinging glittering cheap gowns with thigh-high hems and shoes made for tap dancing. They danced a pattern to the swelling music as they stepped off the stairs.

A stunningly beautiful Denobulan woman in a long glittering red-gold gown appeared from the clouds and stepped down between the rows of women. The lights shone on her auburn hair and her shiny red lips, made the sequins flash and wink on her generous bosom. The other women continued to dance in their choreographic patterns. A glistening muscular bare-chested Human man dressed like a Vulcan executioner but without the mask stepped forward. He swung an enormous padded hammer at the large brass Chinese gong again and she began to sing, moving among the dancing ladies.

"_It's been a long road, getting from there to here.  
It's been a long time, but my time is finally near.  
And I will see my dream come alive at last. I will touch the sky.  
And they're not gonna hold me down no more, no they're not gonna change my mind._

_Cause I've got faith of the heart.  
I'm going where my heart will take me.  
I've got faith to believe. I can do anything.  
I've got strength of the soul. And no one's gonna bend or break me.  
I can reach any star.  
I've got faith.  
I've got faith, faaaith of the hea-ea-eart."_

The gong sounded once more, signaling applause.

Two of those applauding were Jonathan Archer and Colonel Georges Picard. They had just entered the club and listened to the bowing singer. As the club's lights brightened, they could see many people sitting at round tables throughout the club. Some seemed to be merchants, business people, and there were even several whose jewelry flashed in the light. There were even waiters in standard uniforms!

"I'm surprised, Colonel. This club's in full swing and the starbase's not even finished!"

"_Oui, Capitaine_. Building a starbase is very expensive. Having sources of revenue is useful for offsetting the costs." Gesturing toward a table near the stage where two women and a Vulcan man sat, Picard said, "It's all thanks to her."

Archer's eyebrows rose. He recognized one of the two women at the table. He had seen her in the news. Shahka Almashad, President of the United Earth Space Probe Agency. Dressed in a black damask dress with black embroidery that sometimes glittered, the black-haired woman was handsome. Clearly, she had been very beautiful in her younger days, and her years and status had been kind to her. Shahka had often been called 'the Jewel of Iran.'

Walking down between the tables, Archer and Picard reached Shahka. Turning to see who was approaching, Shahka's thick shoulder-length black hair swung and she smiled brightly when she recognized Picard.

"_Bonjour, Madame_."

"A-salaam alaikum, Colonel." Shahka stood up and let Picard take hold of her hand lightly. When she turned to the Enterprise's captain, Archer could understand part of the reason for her position as the CEO of such a large agency like UESPA. Her gaze was direct and seemed to be giving all of her attention to him.

"Captain Jonathan Archer, Madame President Shahka Almashad."

Even as he shook hands with president, he couldn't help but to steal a glance at the second woman despite Shahka's attention-holding gaze. Her clothing was unusual but not unheard of on Earth: she wore a white and green striped turban wound tightly about her head, leaving only dreadlocks going down to above her chest. She was dressed in what looked to Archer like a version of the Catholic cardinal's formal vestment without the short elbow-length cape: a white lace tunic worn over a wide blue dress, a pair of very baggy pants that were like bloomers could be seen under the wide knee-length skirt. The bright colors were in stark contrast with her dark skin. Colored bead necklaces, silver bracelets and a silver thumb ring completed the ensemble. The woman seemed Human of African descent but she seemed to be missing her eyebrows.

The smile that Picard gave the second woman was warmer. "And this is Madame Claranna, the acting personal assistant for the Madame President."

"Hello." Claranna's small smile had an air of mischief. It reminded Archer of the Mona Lisa's smile.

The Vulcan man introduced himself. "I am Skon."

The name rang a bell for Archer. "You were at Signet, weren't you?"

The Vulcan seemed to tighten his face at the mention of that disastrous battle. "Indeed."

Instantly, the captain regretted mentioning the battle. He now remembered that Skon's ship was destroyed with most of her crew aboard. Though Vulcans strove to purge their emotions, the disaster had to have an impact on Skon.

"He's a business partner of the UESPA," put in Shahka. She pronounced the acronym as 'you-spah.' "He's a brilliant mathematician-scientist. I parade him around to show that the Vulcan government approve of this starbase."

Archer could tell that Shahka was joking. He was grateful for her lightening the mood. They sat at the table at her indication. "Impressive starbase you got here, Madam President. I wouldn't have thought of using an asteroid for it."

"Tau Ceti's full of the stuff, Captain Archer. Why not take advantage of that? Besides, it gives our colony the chance to mine metals and minerals during the construction. I can't take the credit, though. We got the idea from the Nausicaan pirate bases, like the one that Admiral Gardner captured in the Sirius Sector."

"And how does the…." Archer stole a quick glance at Skon. "…Vulcan government feel about us building a base in their territory?"

Claranna answered, "Vulcans don't share Humanity's paranoid territorialism. We're grateful for that. This is the first starbase not built in Earth space. Starbase 1 and Starbase 2 are at Earth and Alpha Centauri, respectively."

Shahka, sipping from her champagne flute, said, "There was an old idea of using asteroids as colony ships back in the days of the Mars Revolution and the Sol Asteroid Belt mining stations were feeling rebellious too."

Skon said, "The idea was impractical, considering the technology of the time. Such a vessel would be forced to be a generation ship by the time and distance involved and by the engines' labor to move such a large mass."

"But there's the idea of using hyperspace instead of warp," countered Shahka enthusiastically. "An asteroid filled with colonists and the needed material could be sent to a planet via hyperspace. The colonists could then colonize the planet and use the asteroid as an instant orbital base as well as a mining and factory station. Skon, isn't your friend, Tobin Dax, working on that?"

"Indeed. He has been recruited by the Cochrane Institute of Alpha Centauri to research the various uses of hyperspace and to create a way that would allow hyperspace travel without the need for Quantium-40."

Picard was intrigued by the idea, but for different reasons. "I wonder about the potential of using asteroids as a military weapon. Send an asteroid into hyperspace, then dump it out onto a target enemy planet."

There was a shocked silence at the table. The other patrons in the club were unaware of the conversation unfolding.

Horrified, Shahka finally broke the silence. "Colonel, every civilized world in the other universe has signed a treaty banning the use of mass drivers. What you're proposing is a bigger version of the mass drivers!"

"We didn't sign the treaty," countered Picard.

"The Minbari didn't, either," Claranna pointed out. "So far, they haven't done it."

"Small comfort for the people who died at Terrina and Dakota."

"Pray they or the Romulans don't get the idea before we finish the war," said Shahka. "If we do it, then the enemy _will_ use it on us." Paling at the idea, she added, "It would be mutually assured destruction."

Archer had to wonder whether Starfleet, or any of the other Coalition military forces, would resort to such a tactic if they were pushed far enough. He hoped to never see the tactic used in his lifetime.

Shahka changed the subject. "So what do you think of Ateel?"

"Who?"

"The singer, Captain."

Archer stammered, thrown off guard by the change in subject. He appreciated it, though. "She-ah...she's…uh…beautiful. She has a beautiful voice, too." He felt his response was lame. He hadn't thought about the singer. He wasn't quite the lady's man like certain other Starfleet commanders. And he wasn't comfortable with discussing a woman with another woman in this way.

Fortunately, the president of Humanity's most powerful civilian agency understood and smiled wryly. "I'm only asking because it's a personal idea of mine. I thought that if I put entertainment on starbases, it would help ease the crews and attract business—and money—for the starbases' upkeep."

The captain wasn't sure what to think of that. "Capitalism in Starfleet? We're not a merchant marine."

"How like a military man."

Archer knew that she was teasing but he felt he had to defend Starfleet. "Starfleet is not a military organization. We use military ranks, yes, but it's like the old NASA. Like NASA, we sometimes recruit military officers, but we are primarily civilian. We just happen to have armed ships. It's a dangerous galaxy after all."

Shahka chuckled and a corner of Claranna's lips lifted. Even Colonel Picard seemed amused. The turbaned woman said, "UESPA is a real civilian organization. We're like a company. We don't use military ranks at all, though sometimes we have armed ships. It's a dangerous galaxy, after all." Claranna's eyes twinkled as she threw the last sentence back at Archer. "Starfleet, on the other hand, is definitely not civilian. As you say, you use military ranks. You use MACOs. You train your personnel as if you're a navy. You even take recruits from West Point, Annapolis, Sandhurst, the Chinese Military University, and the Voroshilov Military Academy. The pretense becomes weaker when we know that the United Earth Stellar Navy has merged with Starfleet at the beginning of the war. There's talk of merging the MACOs with Starfleet as well. We are fighting a war and we're using Starfleet to do the fighting." She smiled to take the edge off the rebuke.

Archer bit off his retort. UESPA was a powerful agency, though Starfleet has supplanted it as the leading United Earth exploration service in the 2130's. UESPA launched the Friendship One probe, helped fund and launch the colonization of Terra Nova, many UESPA personnel were involved in the construction of many advanced Starfleet ships, including the Enterprise. It cooperated with Starfleet in overseeing the opening conference for the establishment of the Coalition of Planets. Therefore, it wouldn't do to offend the president of that agency.

"Speaking of dangerous galaxies," Picard interjected, "UESPA has a mission for you, Captain."

Prompted by this cue, Claranna gave a computer tablet to Archer. The captain saw that it contained directions and maps leading to a planet outside Coalition space. The trajectory would take his starship through the Coridan System.

Skon said, "The United Earth Space Probe Agency is concerned about the safety of plant life on Coalition worlds. The Vulcans told us about the mineral zenite, which would protect the plants. It would be prudent for us to obtain it. As far as we are aware, the mineral is available only on the planet Ardana."

"Starfleet's concerned, too, _Capitaine_," added Colonel Picard. "Surely, I don't need to tell you the potential effect of a biological or chemical attack against our farms."

"While the idea is most distasteful, the Colonel is correct," continued Skon. "However, it would be an opportunity to observe the construction and workings of Stratos on Ardana."

"Stratos?"

"It's like Cloud City in the old Star Wars films," explained Claranna helpfully.

Thanks to Trip Tucker's fondness for 20th century films, Archer knew what she was talking about. Cloud City was impressive and having a version built in reality was even more impressive.

Shahka learned forward. "If we learned how the Ardanans are doing it, we could build similar cities on Venus and on viable gas giants. It would make the mining and processing of helium-3 practical."

Now that was an ambitious idea. Mining helium-3 on Jupiter and Saturn was a risky endeavor due to the storms and high gravity on those planets. Aerostats were used to skim Jupiter's and Saturn's atmosphere, though they were now gradually replaced by cloudscoops, facilities attached to small asteroids in a very low orbit. These were notorious for getting lost in the Jovian and Saturnian storms and gravity, so Humans preferred mining helium-3 in the regolith of Luna and the moons of the Sol System and Alpha Centauri. The substance is needed for fusion reactors, so if UESPA cinched the Cloud City technology, it would turn a huge profit. Any investor would get rich.

He wondered if it wasn't too late or too early to start buying UESPA's helium-3 stocks or investing in the Jovian Sky Power Corporation. "Ms. Almashad, you can be sure that I'll take a look at Stratos."

"I expect nothing less." The Iranian woman seemed happy. And she should, with the potential financial rewards. Archer wondered if this would be the first government mission to earn a large profit.

A young man came up to the table, causing the seated people to look up. He had light brown hair and the small smile in his round face caused dimples to appear above the corners of his mouth. If they were in college, Archer would peg him as straddling the line between being trendy-looking and a geek. "Russell Mendenhall, ESN."

The group immediately turned wary.

"Can I join in? I tried to listen in, but the conversations in here are loud."

Picard's look wasn't warm at all. "What do you want?"

"Oh, ESN sent me to cover the new starbase. When they heard the Enterprise's coming here, they told me to cover that too. Captain Archer, the Kalar Affair is the story gripping Earth now." Russell's eyes gleamed. "An interview with you would get my name in the papers!"

Archer scowled. "You crapped on my name in the news. Why should I give you an interview?"

"Oh no, it's not me! It's just the other reporters in ESN. I promise to give you the most glowing terms!" The reporter looked down, abashed. "Of course, the Kalar Affair isn't looking good at all. Rigel and Coridan aren't happy. What will you do about that?" With that, he pulled up a chair and sat in it.

Archer would bet all his future stock in UESPA and Jovian Sky Power that this reporter got an activated recorder hidden somewhere. "I think I prefer Gannet Brooks."

"You know her?" Russell seemed delighted. "Quite a lady, isn't she? She's covering the anti-Earth sentiments in Alpha Centauri."

"I'm feeling a bit anti-you right now."

The remark wiped the happy look off of Russell's face. "Okay umm…what about Tellus? Do you know anything about him?"

"Only that he's an officer on the Ni'Var."

"Was," corrected Russell. "He's disappeared."

Now that was news to Archer. Tellus was the executive officer that deposed Captain Sopek for some reason. Despite himself, he asked, "What happened?"

Russell shrugged. "We don't know. The Ni'Var reported to a Vulcan High Command base in Sirius, he stepped off the ship and vanished. Believe me, ESN tried to find out more but the Vulcan government simply won't answer our calls about this. You were at Coridan once before, weren't you? Do you think your history there will—"

The lights in the club dimmed once more. Archer seized the opportunity to shush the reporter.

The beautiful Denobulan singer, Ateel, came out of a glittering curtain. She began to sing.

_Beyond the rim of the star-light__,_

_My love is wand'ring in star-flight_

_I know he'll find in star-clustered reaches_

_Love, strange love a star woman teaches._

_I know his journey ends never_

_His star trek will go on forever._

_But tell him while he wanders his starry sea_

_Remember, remember me._

While Ateel was singing, something gave Claranna pause—like a whisper only she could hear despite the song. She was thoughtful for a moment. She stood up from her chair and walked over to the center of the club. She stared at the stars coldly shining in the club's single wide window. Several patrons thought it odd that she didn't seem to be listening to Ateel.

Her brow knitted like she had just seen the first signs of a coming storm. When the singer was finished and the patrons applauded, Claranna crossed back to her table and announced, "I'm going with Captain Archer."

"Claranna…?" Shahka Almashad was surprised.

"I think that would serve UESPA's interests. What better way to show that UESPA and Starfleet are working together?"

"Interesting idea…," Shahka began.

"Hold on there!" Archer stood up. "My ship isn't a taxi service!"

Picard looked questioningly at Claranna and Shahka who both nodded sequentially. "Captain Archer, you'll have to bring her. Frankly, I'll feel better with someone watching you so you don't make mistakes like you did with the Kalar."

Archer stared at Picard.

His ship just got a political officer.

**Laibok, Andoria**

**Andorian Empire**

There was a big bang. The starburst reached out from the explosion to form the universe. Planets rushed past from the distance and a star in the center expanded to become a sundial. An unseen sun's shadow moved across all points of time on the sundial. It is replaced by a compass whose pointer spun until the compass morphed into a clock face whose hands sped over Roman numerals. The clock faded into a globe rotating in its cage and gears came together to grind before fading. A plane propeller activated and spun. The propeller spun so fast it vanished and was replaced by an atom whose green protons quickly orbited its purple heart. A human eyeball replaced the atom and looked around at the starry universe. The eyeball became a blue-green planet which was actually a reflection on the black faceplate of an astronaut's helmet. The astronaut moved through space, seemingly lost but appearing to sedately dance. It, too, faded into the darkness of space. The round horizon of a planet rose up. It was recognizable as the ice world of Andoria.

Everything went dark.

Curtains swung apart and a single beam of light shone onto a Human woman with long curling brown hair and full red lips. It was the Diva Giuseppina Pentangeli. She appeared to be almost nervous or shy, even demure. As music began, Giuseppina gracefully stepped forward, head still bowed demurely or shyly, and began to sing. The sound of her voice communicated a tragic story, echoing to every corner of the ornate Andorian opera house. The audience of Andorians and Humans watched transfixed.

In one of the boxes high up on the theater's curving wall, even the steely Andorian features of Senior General Dusen melted to the song. He leaned over to a Human sitting with him in the box.

"What song is this, General Smits?"

The aging Earth Alliance general looked down at the playlist. "It's called Il dolce suono, the sweet sound, from 'Lucia di Lammermoor.' In the story, Lucia falls into madness, and on her first wedding night, while the festivities are still being held in the Great Hall, she stabs her new husband, Arturo, in the bridal chamber. Disheveled and unaware of what she has done, she wanders into the Great Hall, remembering her meetings with another man, Edgardo, and imagining herself married to him."

"A…tragic story." Dusen's antennae weaved in the direction of the Human diva still singing. "Except perhaps for the madness, it's like something out of Andoria's Age of Lament. Why choose this?"

Smits gave a sidelong look at the Andorian general with a raised eyebrow. "It's part of the diplomatic and political games to tie our homeworlds together."

"You don't approve?" the aging Andorian said. His antennae rose straight up. "This alliance will be good for us." Briefly, Dusen's eyes glanced up at the domed ceiling of the opera house. "The jumpgate you're building will give us an edge over the Romulans."

"It's not that I disapprove of the alliance. It's…this music." Smits shifted in his seat uncomfortably. Opera was not his style. The EarthForce general gestured toward Giuseppina who was holding out her hands to the audience as if they were stained with blood and she was begging the audience to know her warning. "I don't know about your Earth but they said she's supposed to be the best soprano in the Terran 22nd century. I would prefer they sing 'It's Not Unusual.' And not with an opera diva."

Dusen chuckled. "I hear there's a new saying on Vulcan: 'Only Soval could go to Andoria.'"

Smits grinned with recognition. Before Dusen could say anything more, loud bangs were heard.

Giuseppina Pentangeli had begun to rock the house. Three humanoid beings stepped out of the darkness behind the diva, dancing to the new tempo. They were dressed in nondescript utilitarian black clothing, stark black wide eyes, apparently hairless and earless, and had gleaming blue grease paint covering all of their exposed skin. Each had his own ensemble of plastic pipes and drums. Each time one or all of the blue men banged a large drum, glowing colored paint splashed explosively, spattering on the drummer, the stage, and sometimes on Giuseppina and the spectators seated close to the stage. Even though they were dancing to the beat, the painted beings wore no emotion on their faces.

"Who are they?" wondered Dusen aloud.

General Smits smiled. "Ah, it's getting much better now. It's our own contribution: the Blue Man Group. They've been popular on my Earth since the 20th century. One of the benefits of not being destroyed by the Third World War."

When the Blue Men banged their drums, exploding paint splashing everywhere and Giuseppina alternated her arms' angled swings with the tempo of her song and the Blue Men's drumming.

"How ironic that people painted blue should be popular on a world when there are real blue men on another planet almost twelve light-years away." Dusen leaned forward over the box's railing for a better look with his eyes and antennae. "They're disturbing, this Blue Man Group. It's as if they're Andorians with Human features but with Vulcan feelings."

Indeed, the Blue Men were completely expressionless except for suggestions of Human emotional reactions in the eyes and eyebrows.

"You're not offended?" inquired Smits.

"No, no. I'm enjoying this." The Andorian senior general was indeed delighted with the concert.

The Earth general nodded and turned to watch the concert. He had been concerned about showing the Blue Man Group to the Andorians because of the similarity to the ancient blackface vaudevilles. He should have known that the Andorians didn't have the history that Humanity had, though theirs was said to be quite bloody.

Meanwhile, the choices of the Blue Men's different paint colors were narrowing down to orange, which reminded Smits of blood the way it spattered onto the Blue Men and on Giuseppina. The crescendo and beat of Giuseppina's il dulce suono increased until the Blue Men gave one final loud bang with an explosion of white paper confetti raining over to the first few rows of the audience.

Everyone applauded as they stood up.

Giuseppina Pentangeli curtsied, dipping herself and spreading the skirts of her dress. The curls and ringlets of her hair fell forward as she bowed her head in tandem with the Blue Men's bow.

Loud whooping alarms sounded.

The people in the opera house looked up in confusion. The Andorians among them recognize the alarm.

"Space raid!"

Those two shouted words were like a lit match thrown into a cooking pit wet with gas.

Pandemonium exploded. The rich and famous, the well-connected, and the special guests scrambled all over each other, over the seats, screaming in their effort to get out of the opera house to the shelters, trampling over those who fell. Giuseppina, now completely forgotten, had fainted and was now being carried off by the now thoroughly expressive Blue Men. The military officers in the audience tried to impose a semblance of order, but the fright and panic was too great. One of them, General Smits, was running with the crowd flow down the hallway behind the viewing boxes. He saw a young Andorian albino woman with long silvery white hair trip and fall down, and threw her arms over her head as people heedlessly ran over her.

The EarthForce general stopped, reached down and bodily picked her up from the floor. The frightened woman opened her eyes at him. They were the milky white of blind eyes.

"Thanks…Jim."

Smits was startled. "How'd you know my name…?" He shook his head. "Doesn't matter. We gotta go!"

"All right. I'm Jhamel."

The general could only wonder at the young woman's adherence to social niceties in the midst of the panic. Carrying her on his shoulder, Smits simply elbowed his way through the crushing crowds.

Somehow, in all the screaming, the crush and the trampling, Smits was outside in the cold night. Such was the emotions that Smits didn't notice the freezing temperature. Freedom Plaza stretched all around in front of the opera house. To one side, he could see the wall of the Parliament Complex. Next to it was a long and high wall with base relief and statues lining it, all stained with old blackened blood and some bits of fresh blue blood. The Wall of Heroes. In the middle of the Plaza, three ice-blue statues stood in a stone boat. Smits had learned a bit about them: Krotus the Conqueror who conquered all Andoria, flanked by his daughter, Empress Thalisar the Last who died childless on purpose, and her widowed lover Lor'Vela who unified the clans in the chaos of Thalisar's death.

Here, the space raid sirens rang their alarm all over the capital city. Smits looked up at the night sky. He wasn't the only one looking up.

-/\-

Edmund Hillary Clark leaned with the shifting inertia as his starfury avoided an asteroid. His plasma bolters spat fire and a target on another small asteroid exploded. Edmund grinned with the battle-lust coursing through his veins.

The Andorian Imperial Guard believed in drilling for battle and they immediately granted his request to go out to the Trojan asteroids trailing behind Andor in its orbit around the Epsilon Indii sun, or Kuy'va as the Andorians named it. Edmund saw another starfury come out from behind an asteroid, bolters firing.

Laughing, he gunned his starfury's thrusters, trying to reach the next target in the game. He and his Nepalese friend had a bet going so why not do target practice during a patrol run?

Pinpoints of light appeared and shone beyond the asteroid field like distant newborn novae. Edmund, attracted by the lights, eased his pressure on the engine control and let the starfury coast under its own momentum, and then looked.

It was an impressive sight that greeted him. Ten green-hued ships had dropped from warp in perfect formation. Two small green crawfish-shaped vessels were in the forefront, with a pair of birds-of-prey behind them. A warbird was in the center of the arrangement, two more birds-of-prey flanking her and they were flanked in turn by a pair of crawfishes. One more crawfish was directly aft of the warbird. Seen from above, the pattern was like an arrowhead.

An arrowhead aimed straight for Andoria.

"Crap!" Edmund shouted into his communicator provided by Starfleet, "We gotta get back! We gotta warn them!"

As one, the starfuries broke into a spiraling dive and their engines went on full as they fled. A green beam lashed out from one of the forward crawfish ships, missing Edmund's starfury.

"Whew!" breathed Edmund. "That was close. Okay, follow me—"

The second starfury blew apart explosively, signaling the success of another green energy beam. Edmund was horrified.

"Tenzing!"

With that, the Romulans made their announcement to everyone in the Andorian System:

The Romulans have come.


	27. Battle of Andor

I have revised this chapter to include portions that are relevant to the next chapter "A Feast of Death."

* * *

_Thus we may know that there are five essentials for victory:_

_(1) He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight._

_(2) He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces._

_(3) He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks._

_(4) He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared._

_(5) He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign._

–Sun Tzu, The Art of War

"_To hide is not cowardice. Neither is avoiding combat when the odds are not in your favor. It is using your limited resources to their best potential."_

–Thoughts of War,

The Eridam Papers,

discovered on a former Romulan colony in 2269,

annotated by Spock and protégé Saavik

**ChR Rea's Helm, enroute to Andoria,**

**Capital of the Andorian Empire**

**4 August 2157 (Terran year), 2246 (EA year)**

The tiny wall-mounted shrine had a little eternal flame burning, flanked by a painted image of two brothers dressed in an archaic tunic. The Great Brothers held aloft horn-shaped torches and were looking away from the flame toward the viewer. Arranged around the tiny lamp, were two small bowls containing water and dirt, and a clear glass corked flask holding the air of Romulus. Over them all was a gleaming image of a stylized starburst.

Admiral Lasus held an incense stick to the flame until it caught. Blowing out the new tiny flame caused the incense to glow and smoke. Satisfied at this good omen, Lasus inserted the incense into a pedestal set for the purpose and looked up at the Great Brothers, and the symbols of the Elements and the starburst representing the Archelement.

Lasus knew that some Rihannsu revered deities like the demonic-looking Bettatan'ru as a leftover of their Vulcan heritage, but he thought the Elements to be purer and more Rihannsu. He thought there were no deities but reverence was to be displayed to the Elements that made up the Universe. However, all Rihannsu shared the belief that though they revered the Powers, be they the Elements, deities or spirits, they did not expect them to answer prayers.

He was honored when he received the warbird Rea's Helm. The ship's name honored him. It was the name of one of the Great Ships that left Vulcan and S'Task, the leader of the Exile, personally commanded it. The names of the Great Ships were never allowed to lie fallow. Currently, all of the warbirds of the Star Empire bore the names of the Great Ships. Therefore, Lasus had a big role to fulfill. _Mnhei'sahe_.

He thanked the Elements for the honor and prayed that he could help his people satisfy the task to build the Road to the Stars which was the Star Empire's manifest destiny. It was given by the Great Brothers, said to be named Sargon and Henoch, two of the Vhorani who created the people that would be the Vulcans and the Romulans at Vorta Vor. If the Romulans proved their strength and determination to fulfill their destiny, they would prove themselves to be the true inheritors of the Vhorani and be masters of the Universe.

There was a knock at the door.

Lasus stood up to open the door to his quarters. It was Sub-Commander Chulak.

"Khre'riov, we are a light-year from the Andorian System."

"Very good, Erei'riov. How are the soldiers?"

"They're ready, sir."

Lasus accepted the verbal report. If Chulak thought them to be ready, then they were ready. The men and women that made up Fleet III Devron came from all over the Star Empire—Sotarek, Chaltok, Inaieu and, of course, ch'Rihan. "Can they see us?"

Chulak knew that 'they' meant the enemy at Andor. "Unknown. But the Tal Shiar suggests that their sensor range is good."

The admiral agreed. The news of a force such as his approaching would spread like wildfire on the Sa'las Plains.

"Any news from Draken colony?" Draken was an Andorian colony one light-years from the abandoned Andorian colony in Gamma Virginis which the Rihannsu now control. As per Admiral Valdore's instructions, just before Lasus' fleet departed Gamma Virginis, Fleet II Aidoann and Fleet IV Devron were tasked with a diversionary assault on Draken IV designed to divert forces from Andor. As instructed by Valdore, if the resistance did not prove too strong, those fleets were to destroy the colony.

"The Andorians reinforced Draken's defenses with ships taken from their colony at Yadalla Prime. Therefore, the fleets have been forced to break off the attack."

Lasus grunted, accepting the event. It would have been easier to walk the Road to the Stars if Draken was destroyed. Some of the people on the Great Ships broke away from the Exile to found a civilization on Draken IV, Barradas III, Yadalla Prime, Calder II and Dessica II, joining the Sakethans, a previous splinter Vulcan group at Calder. It was unfortunate that the Debrune civilization failed to remain strong and therefore died out before they could be reunited with the Rihannsu Star Empire. One day soon, the Imperial Senate will honor the misguided Debrune by colonizing the planets. The colonies would serve as a chain stretching between ch'Rihan and Vulcan. But first, they must remove the obstacles of the Andorian Empire and the United Earth Republic and Colonies.

For now, Lasus could not do anything about that except to follow the Road to the Stars. He said, "The Empire will be honored in this battle."

Chulak quoted, "The honor of the Praetor is the honor of the Empire."

"But we serve the Empress and she is the Empire made flesh."

"Yes, Khre'riov." Chulak had made the tiniest of hesitations, but Lasus noticed. The admiral said nothing about that because he had heard the same rumors.

Though gossip greased the wheels of Rihannsu society, especially among the patrician families, Lasus knew he should not pay attention to those particular rumors. The Empress was the first in centuries to have real power since Emperor Valkis and she gave much to the Empire. The Romulan people had reason to be grateful to the Empress.

Then why, in his heart of hearts, did Lasus feel disturbed?

**The Northern Wastes, Andoria**

The Andorian shuttle settled on the ice. A hatch winged open. A small group of Human men and women stepped out of the shuttle. Some hefted weapons and all were swathed in heavy Arctic coats. The civilians huddled together against the biting winds of Andoria's northernmost region while the weapon-carrying Humans spread out, watchful for any threat to the civilians. An Andorian came out of the shuttle and looked around. The sole non-Human man was similarly dressed against the arctic cold.

"It's so cold here!" commented a woman. "What's the temperature, do you know?"

The Andorian man chuckled knowingly. "Ms. Rimbauer, as I understand Human measurement systems, it's 28 degrees Celsius below zero."

She hugged herself for more warmth. "Now that's what I call cold!"

"It's only mid-summer," retorted the Andorian teasingly.

A man spoke from within the darkness of his fur-rimmed hood. "Ellen, I thought your people have been in contact with the Andorians for a long time. Your company, Brack Enterprises should have known this."

Ellen Rimbauer looked around at the glacial wastes they were in. Glaciers covered everything, broken by ravines and ice-mesas. In the black starry sky, she could see a ringed gas giant on the horizon. The gas giant planet Andor was mostly revealed by the unseen the Epsilon Indi sun. The light reflection on the Saturn-like rings and on the planet itself lit everything like an unusually bright moon, casting long shadows on the glacial surface. If she squinted, she might make out some of the other Andorian moons acting as bright stars.

She hated to admit it, but Anthony Rogers was right. Brack Interplanetary Enterprises did know about the Andorian seasons and climate, but there was nothing like experiencing reality.

"Miss Olith already?" ribbed Rogers. He was referring to one of the Andorian moons, known for its shipyards, which they had visited shortly before coming to the Northern Wastes.

"I wasn't thinking about Olith."

"That's the problem with you and your people. Never thinking beyond your own scopes, at least not enough to think profit." Rogers shook his head. "The Andorians are a major power in this part of the galaxy and you haven't even made contracts with them until there's a formal alliance! Your Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems doesn't even have its fingers in the Olith shipyards!" He shook his head again, saying, "Makes me wonder what's the point of your corporations."

Ellen narrowed her eyes at Rogers in annoyance. She did not expect the Earther to understand. Though the Earth Alliance had the Third World War in its history, it never experienced the excesses and horrors of that war in United Earth's history. No, she would not expect him to understand, especially when he was cryogenically frozen in the late 20th century, and was revived only a few years ago.

Rogers turned to the Andorian. "Erib, if it was Edgars Industries, we would have made contracts with you years ago! William Edgars, now there's a real corporate man. Practically owns half of MarsDome."

Erib was delighted at the Earther's attitude. "Don't tell me that. I'm a chirurgeon, not a businessman."

Another Human man stepped forward. He appeared to be in his thirties and handsome. "The chit-chat's all nice, but it _is_ cold out here. We gotta get a move on. For Weyland-Yutani, time is money."

"You're right, Mr. Burke. Argali is this way." With that, Dr. Erib led the way over the glacial surface into a ravine.

As they walked, Ellen reviewed her knowledge of the people surrounding her. In addition to the guide, Dr. Erib, there was Anthony Rogers of Edgars Industries and Carter J. Burke of Weyland-Yutani Corporation. They were potential rivals for Brack Interplanetary Enterprises, even though there was one more company represented here: Hatsushiba Electric Company represented by the young and polished Kosaku Shima. David Xanatos was a commercial telepath sent by EarthForce to monitor its commercial interests among the Earther corporations in the Andorian System.

Ellen was not sure what to make of David. The telepath kept himself aloof and always wore black leather gloves and that PsiCorps badge. The Earthers kept nervously glancing at him throughout this trip as if they were uncomfortable around him. Sometimes she thought she detected a hint of fear toward David even though his description of himself made him sound like a walking lie detector. She was not very comfortable with the idea that a stranger could know her private thoughts either, but as long as the telepath respected her privacy and did not abuse his gift, she was fine with him. Ever since Earth met telepathic alien species like the Vulcans, it had been investigating the extrasensory perception of Humanity. So far, very few verifiable espers were found and it was concluded by studies that ESP was very limited in Humans and espers were simply people with frequent flashes of insight.

She agreed with the general consensus that it was odd that the Earther Humanity had a large minority of telepaths. Duke University and Heidelberg University, forerunners in the field of ESP studies, were now investigating why telepathy occurred in such large numbers among the Earthers and not the Terrans.

What made her more uncomfortable than David Xanatos were the gun-toting guards assigned to the group. The EarthForce soldiers Lt. Gorman, Sergeant Apone, Corporal Hicks, and Privates Lawrence, Vasquez and Hudson were in marked contrast with the single MACO that the Columbia sent to make a show of the Earther-Terran alliance. Major Donna O'Neill wore padded winter camouflage, brown gloves and her brown equipment belt held a stun stick, two stun grenades, a holstered phase pistol, three phase pistol charges and a hand scanner. In addition to that arsenal, the major carried a pulse rifle. She carried herself like a cat on the hunt and kept herself professional through and through. Meanwhile the EarthForce marines were lean, jaded and hardened, combining the specialized technological combat training of the Earth Alliance with those qualities universal to grunts throughout the ages.

Moreover, they were more armed than the MACO. The groundpounders or GROPOS, as they called themselves, wore an olive green plain one-piece uniform with winter-thick reinforced padding and a flak vest over the top. Smooth armored helmets protected their heads while the soldiers held Auricon EF-PR rifles.

Carter Burke was speaking. "The shipyards at Olith were all very interesting, but they don't tell me much about the Andorian economy. Dr. Erib, tell me about that."

"I'm a chirurgeon, not a businessman."

The corporate lawyer waved a hand dismissively as the group entered an ice-cave entrance. "I know that. But tell me anyway."

Ellen hid a smirk. Brack Enterprises knew something about the Andorians that these Earthers did not. It was an advantage that she had been waiting for them to notice.

Erib studied Burke for a while before replying, sizing up his potential reaction. "We have a clan-based society that revolves around community-owned property rather than personal ownership."

Burke frowned at the explanation as if he did not understand completely. Anthony Rogers did. "So, basically, you are communists."

It was Erib's turn to be puzzled. Ellen interjected, "In the sense that we understand, yes, they are."

Burke was still puzzled. "Then…what's all this about an 'Imperial Guard'? Isn't that anti-communist?"

"A rose, by any other name, is still a rose," quoted Ellen.

Kosaku Shima nodded, understanding. Rogers only shrugged, dismissing it as part of non-human nature. Burke said offhandedly, "Maybe we could do better with the Tellarites."

Ellen rolled her eyes at the clumsy negotiation tactic by Weyland-Yutani. The commercial telepath, Xanatos, said, "Didn't they betray us at Signet? They've stopped giving us military help against the Minbari."

The EarthForce soldiers made noises of disapproval. There was still bad feeling about the Signet Run disaster.

Erib said with a knowing smirk, "If you want contracts with the Tellarites, you could always get a transport to Tellar."

Ellen could not help but laugh, earning a scowl from both Xanatos and Carter.

"What's so funny?"

She held onto a stalagmite for balance on the ice as she stepped down a slope. "The Tellarites are driven by the acquisition of wealth."

"So are we."

"Yeah, well, it's the same in the Tellarite military. They hire out contracts for operations and pass the costs of the 'investments' along to the clients."

Kosaku noted Ellen's words with a hint of distaste. "Do you mean that the Tellarite military are mercenaries?"

"Yes, but not quite. They work for the Tellarite government and they hire out their services to those who are willing and able to pay the negotiated price. You're lucky the Tellarites didn't demand any payment for the battle at Signet. They wanted only the Tellar's counterpart in your universe." Ellen turned to Carter. "If you want to sign contracts with the Tellarites, go ahead. Just keep in mind, if the costs become too much for a fleet or a ship to bear alone, prisoners could be taken and sold into slavery." She shrugged. "If possible, they could always take a ship from either side to add to their military or to sell as a whole, in pieces or as scrap."

Now Carter did not look like he liked the idea of getting contracts with the Tellarite military. Ellen added to rub salt into the wound, "If there are heavy losses, too much for the mere sale of slaves or ships to cover, the Tellarites could confiscate your property, including making one of your planets a protectorate of Tellar until the taxes paid off all of the costs. If necessary, they would impose a military governor of their own. Then more taxes would be needed to pay for the benefits of Tellarite rule."

Erib nodded. "That's how the Tellarites often expanded their territorial control. They also offered subsidiary alliances as a way to expand their control. Any unaligned world that accepts the offer had to suspend its own military, keep Tellarite forces in its territory and pay for their maintenance. In lieu of payments, the local government could cede territory to Tellar. Then the planet must accept a Tellarite liaison in its government. They tried it to our allies and some of our colonies. That was why we had conflicts with them."

"Sounds a lot like the East India Company," commented Kosaku.

"Exactly," confirmed Ellen.

She felt a moment of victory when the other men nodded pensively, frowning. She had just closed several doors for them. She knew that United Earth corporations were not as aggressive as Earth Alliance corporations were but she would do her best to come out on top. Perhaps Brack Enterprises would come out of this very well after all.

Kosaku spoke as if a thought had just occurred to him. "It is interesting how our two Earths are physically the same, but socially different."

"Not quite physically the same," Ellen responded. "Los Angeles is under water, thanks to the Hermosa Earthquake in 2047."

"On our Earth, San Diego was nuked in 2050 and is uninhabitable. Seems that area of the world had bad karma in both universes."

Carter interjected, "The social difference is why the Earth Alliance will get the Andorian contracts before United Earth!"

"Really, Mr. Carter?" Ellen was getting tired of him.

"Yes, really. Conformity breeds stagnation. From what I could learn about your world, Terrans are lazy. Everything is done for them—hell, the minimum living standard is actually included in Terran civil rights laws! You call it the Basic Necessities Act, I believe."

"At least we've eliminated poverty and hunger."

The Weyland-Yutani representative frowned at the bland rebuke. Hunger and poverty were still problems in the Earth Alliance. "They think everyone should be like them and be nice people. There is no conflict, no hardship, which a race needs for progress."

"Mmm. You sound like Nietzsche."

Carter scoffed. "I do?"

"Yeah. What you're saying fits his Will to Power philosophy. He suggested that adaptation and the struggle to survive is secondary to the desire for power, glory and greatness. That could lead to a form of Social Darwinism."

Rogers was puzzled. "So?"

"That kind of thinking on Terra led to the creation of the Augments, to the Eugenic Wars and the Third World War. That kind of thinking almost destroyed my world and pushed Humanity to the brink of extinction. You're lucky."

"No. We're smart, that's all," said Carter proudly. "We had our own Third World War but it was not as devastating as yours. We were an intact world when we reached the stars. Our economy gave us influence among the Non-Aligned Worlds and respect from the Narns and Centauri."

Lieutenant Gorman cut in. "That's how we won the Dilgar War." That made the escorting Earther soldiers swell with pride.

"You have a point there. But remember, Nietzsche said that Man is something which ought to be overcome."

"Sir!" Corporal Hicks swung his rifle around to aim it at a moving shadow in an ice-cave corridor. All the GROPOS and the single MACO swung their rifles around as more shadows appeared. The corporate representatives froze in their tracks.

Tall albino-pale Aenar men stepped out of the shadows. Their costume was created in soft fur with leather accents, faceted mother of pearl on leather belts finished with multi-sized and shaped opalescent jewels and pearls. Matched mother of pearl cubes that caught and reflected the light fastened the belts and halters. Gauzy veils were draped around their shoulders. It was clearly designed to camouflage, to blend into the ice and snow, and to provide warmth and protection. The clothes spoke of Aenar wealth to the nervous corporate representatives. On the other hand, the presence of these silent men told the soldiers that they had been discreetly watched until this moment. They could not help feeling caught with their guard down.

A Vulcan man dressed in a High Command uniform stepped forward with his hands raised to calm the startled Humans. "There is no need for alarm. The watchmen are Aenar."

Private Lawrence said, "I thought the Aenar are all blind?"

The Vulcan's slanted eyebrows rose. "Indeed they are."

"How can that be? They're looking straight at us!" Indeed, the milky white eyes seemed to be gazing directly down at the Humans.

"They are telepaths."

That simple statement made the Earthers a little tenser. David Xanatos narrowed his eyes around at the Aenar, prepared to use his own telepathy. "I can't believe that the Aenar would use telepaths as guards. That's risking a valuable asset."

Blandly, the Vulcan said, "All Aenar are telepathic."

The Earthers blanched at that.

"It is an evolutionary compensation for their blindness. I am aware of the aversion to telepaths in the Earth Alliance. Be assured that their strict ethics prevent them from using their telepathy on anyone without permission. Is there not such rules among your telepaths?"

Xanatos swallowed. "The PsiCorps has such rules." He looked around at the nervous Earthers. "He's telling the truth."

The Earthers relaxed a little. Only a little.

The Vulcan stepped closer. "I am Major Talok. We will escort you to the Aenar city."

**Aenar City Argali**

**The Northern Wastes, Andoria**

"Ugh. I'm getting too old for this shit."

The other GROPOS were amused at Private Lawrence's comment. Bob "Psycho" Lawrence enlisted in the EarthForce Marine Corps underage not long ago.

"They ain't payin' us enough for this," added Lawrence, referring to the escort duty.

"Not enough to feel your cold hands on my balls, Psycho," agreed Hudson.

"Suck ass. Hey, Hicks, you look like you lost your weenie in this cold."

Corporal Hicks, an older career-military type who kept his own counsel, merely snorted good-naturedly.

"It's damn cold!" said Hudson, hugging himself despite the thick padded dark green winter uniform. "I didn't sign up to be a blue nose!"

"Jeez," said Sergeant Apone. "I never saw such a bunch a' old women. You wanna me get your slippers for you, Hudson?"

"Would you, sir?"

Major Donna O'Neill chuckled at the EarthForce camaraderie from her position at the windows overlooking the massive ice cavern that the Aenar city was in. Apone was stocky and grizzled with peregrine eyes. He seemed to run it loose and fair, but it was only because he knew his people to be the best in his opinion.

Private Vasquez eyed the MACO coldly as she walked past. She was younger than the others and her combat experience came from the streets of a Los Angeles barrio near the San Diego Wastelands. She was tough, even by the standards of her group, hard muscled, eyes cunning and mean.

Hudson grinned with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Hey, Vasquez…you ever been mistaken for a man?"

"No. Have you?"

The marines hooted at the repartee. Vasquez slapped Lawrence's open palm and it clenched into a greeting that was part contest. It became rougher and painful until she cuffed him hard and they broke with vicious laughter. Donna thought they were like Dobermans playing. They were the youngest of the squad and they were recruited from juvenile prison. That was part of their bond.

"Awright!" shouted Apone. "Stow the grabass! We're not here for slack time!" He sternly brought a satchel onto a table. "Right. Who wants some bag nasty?"

The GROPOS grinned at the prospect of food.

**EAS Cortez**

**Orbiting Andor**

A clear fizzy liquid poured into a glass. Commander Jack Maynard grasped the glass and brought it up to drink it. He stopped himself when the smell reached him.

"Uhh, what's this, Doctor Shres?"

The Andorian scientist chuckled. "It's a citrus drink from my world."

The executive officer of the Earth Explorer ship Cortez eyed the drink where fizz bubbles were slowly rising to the surface and popping. He could not tell Shres that the citrus drink smelled like goat mixed with lemon oil. Maynard looked over his shoulder at his captain for escape.

The captain chuckled and read a report on a Starfleet datapad. He innocently said, "According to this, we've completed the construction of the Andor Jumpgate."

Maynard seized the opportunity and put the glass down on its table. He studiously ignored Shres' quizzical rise of an antenna. "Yes, sir. Ahead of schedule."

"Mmhmm." The captain went back to reading the report, this time silently and studiously ignoring his executive officer. There was a small smirk of amusement on his face.

Maynard looked back at Shres who now looked at him expectantly. The commander then looked down at the glass of goat-lemon smelling citrus drink. Otto von Bismarck once said that diplomacy is the art of the possible. However, in this case, it was the art of the impossible because he must drink it or insult Dr. Shres by either refusing it or telling the truth. By insulting Shres, he would be insulting the Andorians. His training as an Explorer officer prevented him from doing it. Besides, there are some food and drink on Earth that smell bad but actually taste good.

He sighed, steeling himself, and reached for the glass. He picked it up and prepared to taste the clear and fizzy citrus drink. Maynard reminded himself that it was all for the good of the Earth Alliance. He wished for something to happen to stop him from drinking it.

"Commander!" called out the scanner officer.

"What is it?"

"The new subspace sensor suite, it's scanning something."

"Another sensor ghost?" Sometimes Maynard wondered whether it was worth the trouble to have this technology. Starfleet and the Imperial Guard had assured EarthForce that it was normal to get sensor ghosts when the technology was new.

"No, sir. I'm reading it loud and clear." She frowned nervously. "But I'm not sure what it is."

Grateful for this latest distraction from Shres, Maynard went over to the scanner station. Leaning over the scanner officer's shoulder to the scanner image, he could see sensor silhouettes of what seemed to be ships gathered in a fleet slowing from warp speed. He remembered the vessel recognition briefing and blanched.

"Commander, are they…?"

"Yes," Maynard confirmed grimly.

The Romulans have come.

=/\=

Within seconds after slowing from warp speed, the Romulans were engaging Allied forces. The first to fall was a one-man fighter craft weaving through the asteroids trailing behind the Andor gas giant.

Admiral Lasus grunted as the light of the starfury's destruction faded from his viewing scope. That one-man craft seemed to be from that other Human nation that the Terrans found. The fighter did not open fire. It did not even have gravity technology or polarizing hulls. Just a flimsy armor that stood no chance against a single shot.

A sneer curled Lasus' lips. Primitive.

Still, it was the first hit for his fleet. Lasus toggled a switch and went back to peering into his hooded scope. Now it showed a two-dimensional map of the Andorian System, with Andorian and Human ships highlighted and labeled by known class. He could see an unbelievably large spacecraft that was mostly open grid work keeping station beside the drydock-like structure and two of those odd gray and blue vessels with the blocky and bulky rocket-like ion engines at the rear, a small swarm of those primitive fighters going on their patrols with a Terran starship that slowly circling the drydock structure. Intelligence files identified it as the UES Columbia NX-02. Oddly, the other Human ships were absent, likely on maneuvers or patrols. Lasus heard that Humans loved their war games. At least sixteen Andorian battle cruisers were prowling the star system in groups of four. About 30 smaller Andorian warships were attached to the patrolling ships. They were smaller versions of the battle cruisers except that their wings were shorter and outstretched in a lower angle than the battle cruisers' higher bird-wing angle.

A formidable defense force. The odds were not in Lasus' favor. Fortunately, Admiral Valdore knew what he was doing.

At a glance, Lasus could see that a group of Andorian warships was in the vicinity of the assigned arrival point of Fleet IX Romii, led by Admiral Valdore, which had not yet arrived. Lasus wished that his fleet could have dropped out of warp closer to Andoria and make a much bigger impact on the defense forces, but Valdore required it.

Even as the Andorian ships were scattering in surprised panic, Lasus' combat wedge was breaking apart into previously assigned hunter-killer teams. Flanked by two birds of prey, the warbird Rea's Helm banked in tight pursuit of four Andorian ships. Nuclear-tipped missiles flew out from the trio of Rihannsu ships, exploding against the Andorian defense force screen even as two T'Liss class drone-ships, controlled by mind-controlled telepaths aboard the Rea's Helm, strafed the Andorians viciously. As the Andorian defense screen generators failed under the crippling barrage, brilliant green beams of particle fire lashed out, burning deeply into the enemy hull. Another salvo of particle fire from the drone-ships ripped an Andorian warship apart while more missiles drowned the other three ships in atomic fire.

"The Hevamsu ship is en route," said Sub-Commander Chulak, studying the readings in his own scope.

Indeed, the Terran starship was moving to challenge Lasus' fleet. He smiled at the report as he watched another ice-gray battle cruiser shudder under concentrated fire and futilely attempting to shoot down dancing drone-ships. Many of the Andorian warships were moving toward Lasus' fleet. Everything was going as planned.

Not for the first time, he marveled at Valdore's application of the game latrunculo to battle tactics. "Target the Hevamsu ship," ordered Lasus. "And send our birds of prey to handle the Andorsu coming at us."

"Yes, Khre'riov." Chulak immediately gave orders to the officers operating the consoles around the bridge facing the central column.

Rea's Helm banked hard and accelerated toward the rapidly approaching Columbia, followed by its flanking birds of prey and drone-ships.

"What are the other Hevamsu ships doing?" wondered Lasus.

Centurion Terix adjusted his scope before saying, "They're still in defensive positions at the structure."

That structure was the only sign of the other Human nation's advanced science. Therefore, it would be a priority defense point for the Humans and Andorians. It also meant it was a priority target for the Rihannsu to either capture or destroy. Lasus seriously doubted that the huge open grid work vessel was combat-capable.

Seconds passed before the warbird was in range and began exchanging fire with the Columbia. The Terran starship shook as particle beams raked it. A trio of atomic missiles raced across the void toward the starship before exploding. The flimsy Starfleet hull, even polarized, could hardly withstand that much nuclear power.

But the explosions came too early. Lasus now studied the Columbia with new interest. A point-defense weapon system was installed in the starship. When a bird of prey fired a missile at it, Lasus could see pulses of plasma fire appearing and striking the missile down, destroying it.

That was new.

Torpedoes screamed out of the Columbia while phase cannon fire splashed against the skin-hugging Rihannsu defense screen. Rea's Helm shuddered as the torpedoes exploded. The two ships roared past each other, mere kilometers apart, weapons barking at almost point-blank range. Both ships rocked under each other's onslaught as they began circling each other like hungry wolverine thrai.

Admiral Lasus could see that his fleet was taking a pounding from the swarming Andorian ships. Some Rihannsu commanders clearly wanted to ease the pressure on themselves by ordering their mind-controlled telepaths to send drone-ships farther in order to swat down the Human fighters approaching from the FTL structure in orbit around Andoria.

As scheduled, Valdore's fleet arrived at the other side of the Andor planetary system. Just like a move in latrunculo. Latrunculo, similar to the Humans' chess, requires the player to eliminate enemy pieces by pinning them between his own, though one piece, the Centurion, could leap over pieces within parameters, like the Knight in chess. Once again, Lasus was impressed with the size, power and composition of Fleet IX Romii as it appeared in his scope. One warbird leading nine birds of prey and eleven drone-ships. It was enough to conquer a whole empire.

Or at least take the Andorian Empire out of the equation.

As Rea's Helm shook under concentrated assault by Columbia and several of the smaller Andorian ships without which the Terran ship would have been destroyed, Lasus glared at the Terran ship in his viewscope. _Stay focused on us,_ he urged the starship. _Do not pay attention to Valdore's fleet._

To his surprise, the Terran captain seemed to obey. As the starship continued to pound away at Rea's Helm, the two lethal drone-ships connected to the warbird pounced, forcing the starship's point-defense system to work overtime trying to take them down.

Lasus held onto his scope for support as the warbird rocked. He glared at the Columbia, maneuvering for position within the viewscope. He ordered a bird of prey to come assist him. If he did not finish this fight, they might not live much longer.

=/\=

A tall Aenar woman walked into another room. David Xanatos was sitting at a table there. The Earther telepath looked up.

"I apologize for intruding. I am Lissan. I have been chosen as Speaker for the Aenar in this city. You are David Xanatos."

He frowned and held a hand to his temple. He did not feel any other mind intruding into his. How did she do it? He said edgily, "I thought you have rules against violating other people's privacy."

"The Andorian Chancellor contacted the Aenar about you." The answer eased David. Lissan's antennae slowly waved. "You have been sitting here for quite some time."

Sensing the question in the statement, David said, "Yes, Speaker. Most telepaths like to feel the…'acoustics' of a room before they perform a scan."

Lissan cocked her head, looking as if her unseeing milky pupils were looking right through David. That was disconcerting for the Human. As far as he could tell, the Aenar woman was not looking into his mind. For a moment, he wondered what it would be like if he could use the talent without line of sight.

"It would seem that your telepathy is delicate."

David mentally bristled. Was that a shot? He decided not to call it.

"We are curious about Human telepaths. Can I have your permission to look into your mind?"

Instantly, David strengthened his mental guard. He was used to being around mundanes so he was a little on edge being around an entire people of telepaths who were quite casual about their power and privacy. He could not understand why the mundanes of the Andorian Empire did not put the Aenar under control. "No."

The Aenar Speaker looked disappointed. Before anything could be done about that, the Human corporate representatives filed into the room and took their seats at the table. David mentally slipped into his role.

"I'm David Xanatos, licensed commercial telepath, PsiCorps rating P-6. I'll be sitting in on the negotiations on behalf of the Earth Alliance. My purpose here is to verify the merchandise. I won't be scanning you, but only verifying your responses to specific questions. Please relax and try to avoid strong emotion."

Ellen Rimbauer thought that the Human telepath's introduction sounded like an airline flight attendant's pre-takeoff spiel.

Kosaku Shima was the first to speak. "Hatsushiba Electric is interested in your geothermal technology. It would be beneficial to our effort to expand our franchise beyond Earth."

Lissan inclined her elongated head. "That can be arranged."

Ellen jumped in. "Brack Enterprises is also interested."

The Japanese frowned at that. "Hatsushiba has connections with Rockefeller Fueling & Mining. We are in negotiations with XenoCorp and Universal Terraform."

Carter Burke joined in. "But Weyland-Yutani has connections with Edgars Industries and Praxis Corporation." Anthony Rogers nodded at that, allowing Carter to speak for him. "We have contracts with the Extrasolar Colonization Administration and the Interstellar Commerce Commission." Carter smiled smugly at Kosaku and Ellen. "That means we have the backing of EarthGov."

"That's not true," said David blandly.

Carter glared at the commercial telepath. "If we get the contract with the Aenar and go to EarthGov, we will get the support. That is necessary for the travel between Earth and Andoria."

Kosaku did not appear to appreciate Weyland-Yutani's advantages. They had come unaware of that corporation's apparent alliance with Edgars Industries. Ellen glanced up at Lissan who only observed without indicating which way she would lean. "Brack Enterprises can offer the services of Dytallix Mining and Sirius Cybernetics. In return, you can have all the contacts you want outside of Andoria."

Carter was incredulous and blurted, "Where's the money for Brack?"

Ellen looked archly back at the handsome Weyland-Yutani representative. "Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems give us discounts in shipping. And…" She glanced calculatingly at Lissan. "…we don't use money."

Now all four Earthers were incredulous. "No money?"

"We still have money but we're phasing it out. We're a technocracy, not a capitalist culture."

Rogers wondered, "So how do you pay?"

"We pay by giving an agreed amount of energy."

Lissan finally spoke. "Money does not hold significance for our society. Everything is held by the community." The corporate Earthers' faces fell at that. "And we have plenty of energy from our geothermal taps." Ellen bit her lip at that.

"But Brack can help in reducing your labor in tapping the planet's geo—"

Lissan raised her face toward the ceiling. Her antennae seemed to be agitated and she began to look distressed. "Andoria is under attack."

The Humans were now distressed. This negotiation was becoming a disaster.

The Aenar Speaker turned her face back down to the Humans. "We will not be involved." More distress showed. "Even though we sense the use of telepathy in the battle."

"But…," Rogers began.

"We are pacifists. We are neutral. We are not a threat. Because of that, the Romulans will leave us alone. The military will deal with them." Lissan smoothed her face and smiled. "Please, let us continue the negotiations."

The Humans were not completely reassured.

=/\=

"Fire!" Captain Erika Hernandez ordered.

The deck thrummed as torpedoes screamed out of Columbia's launch tubes. Frustratingly, a drone-ship seemed to have learned from the starship's new interceptor grid and shot down the torpedoes in quick order. A bird of prey came to help the warbird. Erika refused to permit that. New orders caused phase cannon fire and torpedoes to slam into the bird's underside, punching through the painted predator bird painted on it, and ripped into the structure with explosions that vaporized metal and flesh. Huge chunks of the bird's hull plating were torn free in the blast and sent tumbling into the void.

Still, with the warbird and its drone-ships tearing into Columbia, Erika wondered if her ship might make it before the goal is realized.

=/\=

Caitlin "The Lady" O'Shaunnessy feared for her life. It was all she could to keep her starfury moving fast and to keep it unpredictable. The small lone green crawfish-like ship was hunting her squadron.

"Tweeky!"

Another starfury spat plasma fire at the drone-ship, having little effect. _"Lady, we're doing all we can!"_

Another voice came into Caitlin's helmet. _"Briefing said this ship's remote-controlled by a telepath. I believe it now! It's like it's alive!"_

"Stow it, Knight!" Caitlin jerked on her joystick hard and her starfury dropped down while spinning around on a pin. Gunned thrusters pushed it in a new direction. This move saved her life as a green beam shoot through where she would be had she not done it. She muttered to herself, "One more like that and I'll tear the stick right off, then I'm dead."

For just an instant, she allowed herself to look at the scanner readings of the other surviving starfuries in her squadron. Felix "Tweeky" Blanc and Joshua "Knight" Ellis were at the moment getting out of the way of the storm of green beams. If the story of a telepath controlling the drone-ship was true, Psi-Corps and EarthForce would love to get its hands on the technology.

A new starfury came into scanner range. The computer quickly identified it with a label. Edmund Hillary Clark. "Hill! You're alive!"

"_Yeah, Lady. It was hairy back there in the rocks for a while."_

A new voice sounded. _"Tigerclaw speaking."_ Caitlin, concentrating on dodging the drone, was barely aware of the Hyperion-class ship EAS Tigerclaw still guarding the jumpgate. She jumped her fury up again, still avoiding the demonic drone-ship. _"All furies, come to us as fast as you can. The Fighting Tigers and the Death's Hands are coming."_

"That'll help, I hope!"

"_Just do it."_

Trusting the Tigerclaw's captain with her life, Caitlin gunned the engines along with others of her decimated squadron. The pressure on her body was such that it was getting hard for her to breathe. Soon, both Hyperions and their swarms of starfuries opened fire. The drone-ship, though incredibly maneuverable, could not escape the wall of fire rushing at it. Soon, it was ripped through and explosions consumed it.

Now Caitlin could breathe. "Thanks, guys."

"_No problem, Lady."_

She recognized the voice to be coming from Commander Jeffrey Sinclair of the Death's Hands squadron. "Hey, guys, we go help the blue men?"

"_Negative. We can't reach them in time."_

Caitlin studied her scanner reading grimly. Sinclair was right. The Birdies were too far away for the furies to come quickly enough to help the Andorians and the Columbia.

Besides, sooner or later, they would be coming for the jumpgate. And them.

=/\=

Admiral Valdore was frowning. He was studying the holo-tank that dominated the battle-control deck. Stretching from deck to ceiling, the tank was an entirely enclosed display that presented a three dimensional outline of the system and the occurring battle within. Brightly colored images represented the starships currently engaged in combat; red for Rihannsu, green for Terran, blue for Andorian. It was a technological marvel that utilized the best subspace scanning technology that the Star Empire had to offer.

Everything was going according to plan.

That troubled him. By all rights, the plan should have messed up earlier. Oh, there was the surprise of the point-defense system installed in the Columbia but it was easily taken care of. The Imperial War College taught him that plans do not survive contact with the enemy intact. Fleets III and IX were tearing into the enemy defenses. Six Andorian battle cruisers had been destroyed in the opening seconds of the assault, and the debris of twice that many smaller combat vessels was already scattered among the moons of Andor, adding to the rings of the blue gas giant.

The allied enemy forces were responding slowly to the assault, almost as if they had been caught completely by surprise at the sudden appearance of Rihannsu ships, something that should be impossible. Unless Andorian and Human sensors were far worse than intelligence suggested, they _should _have been able to detect the two incoming fleets in time to prepare for an effective defense.

"Time on target?"

Valdore's eyes were drawn to the jumpgate hanging near the planet-sized moon Andoria. Two of those ships from the other Human nation guarded it along with those tiny fighters. The reported slowness and cumbersomeness of these vessels made them inconsequential, so they could be taken care of later, after the Rihannsu got past the Andorians. Many satellites orbited Andoria. Scans had confirmed that many of them were defense platforms.

"Five siuren," replied a centurion from his station.

Valdore nodded. Five minutes until he is able to enact his plans for Andoria. If all went well, his people will win the Sotarek Citation, which was awarded to military officers who defeated superior forces, and the Great Comet, which was a military decoration given to those who have secured new resources for the Star Empire. If that happens, Valdore would build on the morale boost plus the momentum that the fall of Andoria would bring to the Star Empire.

Removing a whole empire had not been done since the conquest of Remus and Romii by the hero Tellus. That may be enough for Valdore to be rewarded the honor of looking upon the Empress' face. Still, it was all in the name of Empire, he lamented.

Valdore's ship, the Bloodwing, rocked as enemy fire managed to reach it. Protected within a tight fortified sphere of drone-ships and birds of prey, the Bloodwing led Fleet IX straight to Andoria. They took potshots at the Andorians who were now realizing that his fleet intended to reach Andoria before they do for the most part.

Andorian blue beams and Romulan green beams flashed, slicing into ships' shields and hulls; the drone-ships danced with Andorian homing torpedoes and shot at them, ripping them apart before they could reach their targets. As Fleet IX approached Andoria, the automated defense satellites began to orient themselves towards the Romulans.

"Drones," Valdore said sharply, "destroy the satellites!"

Bloodwing abruptly banked to the right, and the sudden shift in direction caused Valdore to reach a hand to a wall to keep himself stable. Immediately, the space around his warbird and fleet was alive with pyrotechnics as torpedoes, missiles, beams lashed out to savage their targets while Bloodwing opened fire with its particle cannons. For the briefest of moments, Valdore was distracted by the sheer firepower unleashed by ships and satellites in the holotank.

In it, Valdore could see four birds of prey advancing toward the FTL structure, weapons spitting fire at the defense satellites. One drone abruptly exploded under fire from the Andorians and debris from its destruction slammed into a second drone, sending it spinning uncontrollably before its telepath could stabilize it. The two Earther Hyperion cruisers seized the opportunity by firing their main guns, tearing the second drone apart. The Earth Explorer slowly turned around, lumbering as it went given its size that the holotank measured to be three kilometers long. The glow from its engines brightened as it struggled to move the large vessel. The open work FTL structure seemed to create a tiny new star inside itself, which immediately bloomed into a yellow swirling vortex. When the Explorer crossed the threshold into the vortex, it seemed to accelerate as if it was going to warp, and vanished into the vortex. The vortex then seemed to close like a flower closing its petals before vanishing completely.

Valdore had just witnessed the use of the other Human nation's FTL technology. It seemed to visually fit the theories of kllhe-hole mechanics. Wormhole technology! The Star Empire must have it.

A flash of light bloomed, momentarily blinding Bloodwing's sensors and causing the holotank to lose telemetry for a moment.

"What was that?" Valdore demanded as the holotank began its reset process.

"The Pohshau," a centurion revealed grimly. "The damages were too much for it."

Valdore glowered at the holotank. He could see that the named bird of prey was now a spreading cloud of debris. Good Rihannsu soldiers gone, perhaps leaving families behind on the Two Worlds of ch'Rihan and ch'Havran, Sotarek, Chaltok or any of the other colonies in the Star Empire. But he reminded himself that a commander who is afraid to put his forces in harm's way has already been defeated. The Rihannsu Guard will honor them. The officers and crews killed here died for a reason.

Taking the Andorian Empire out of the equation.

All in the name of Empire. "Once we're in range, shift fire to the vortex generator," the admiral ordered, referring to the jumpgate, as he watched an Andorian battle cruiser begin to break apart under Bloodwing's unceasing fire. "Bloodwing, make for the structure. Keep the drones working on the defense satellites."

Everything was still according to plan. That bothered Valdore.

The jumpgate hung prominently in the holotank.

=/\=

Lieutenant Laszlo Kelby hurriedly slipped into his radiation suit. "Everyone in the rad-suits?"

Columbia rocked, causing Kelby and many other engineers to stumble. More alarms blared. A blast of steam vented from a pipe before an engineer closed it. Sparks fountained at a console before subsiding. Still, Kelby was worried about the ship. The damages Columbia was getting caused the engines to leak radiation. Normally, Kelby would order the engineering crew to evacuate, but this was not normal circumstances. It was a good thing that EarthForce allowed him to study and install their interceptor grid technology in the starship. Otherwise, Columbia would have succumbed to Romulan fire long ago.

He slammed a comm. button. "Engineering to the bridge! I don't know how much longer we can hold up! Another shot like that and we're looking at a core breach!"

The deck heaved and Kelby had to grab onto the pillar holding the comm. panel.

"_Okay, Lieutenant, you convinced me. Break off! Tactical, reorient weapons."_

Kelby grunted his satisfaction as the engines growled with more power and the Columbia was sent into yet another hard bank. They would survive for some time more.

But what of Andoria?

=/\=

Andoria sat in an uneasy security.

Senior General Dusen could not embrace its icy beauty at the moment. No battle had touched its surface since Lor'Vela the Unifier united the clans and brought them out of the chaos of the death of his wife, Empress Thalisar the Last. War always found its way home, if not in deed then in the souls of tired soldiers. This time, war was coming in deed. At this moment, its fire was singing Andoria's sky.

The Romulans' assault could scar Dusen's beloved homeworld, perhaps even more than Thalisar's father, Krotus the Conqueror, ever did. He thought of the honors built and paid to heroes in Freedom Plaza, especially the Wall of Heroes. He thought of the Imperial Palace where the Andorian Parliament met in the Grand Chamber and where the Empty Throne, unclaimed by any sovereign since Thalisar, symbolized the unity of Andoria's clans.

The general wondered what the Ka'Thelan Conqueror of Andoria would think of his people's defense of the homeworld. He hoped that Krotus would be proud of them.

"General, we've lost contact with DP-7."

Dusen's antennae swiveled in agitation. Yet another planetary defense platform lost to the Romulans. They were certainly determined to strike at his homeworld. Uzaveh the Infinite grant that this should not happen.

"General, we're getting a message from the Nero," said one of the functionaries in the Imperial Guard Command bunker beneath the capital city of Laibok. Dusen knew that the functionary was referring to one of the two Hyperion-class cruisers guarding the jumpgate. He hoped it wasn't bad news. As he leaned over the functionary's console, he noticed her worried expression. Clearly, she was thinking the same thing.

He was proud that she was holding up well enough to satisfy the honor of the Imperial Guard. War wasn't something that was easily related in a class—it had to be experienced. That was the real training that the Guard was going through now en-masse.

"Give it."

"_This is the EAS Nero, Commander Roger Larcombe commanding, on channel 46-A."_

Dusen's antennae drooped in mourning. That meant the Nero's captain was either dead or incapacitated. That ship was the Hero of Orion because it ambushed and killed a Minbari Tinashi cruiser in the Orion System. Nonetheless, he recognized the code. "Acknowledged, Commander. I read you on that channel."

"_Glad to hear your voice, General. We've sent out a message. Reinforcements should arrive in five hours."_

Dusen smiled a bit. Perhaps the Romulans will not break through the defenses after all. "Thanks, Commander. I guess we'll have to wait. We're busy here, you know."

"_Good luck, Dusen."_

He wondered about the EarthForce General Smits who had gone to the Northern Wastes to deliver some girl at the first space raid sirens. Maybe he was finished with her. "Give me a channel to the Aenar cities. I need to—"

_Choom!_

Dusen looked up as the ceiling bore down on top of him. The Romulans were past the defense platforms! He instinctively bent to cover the seated female functionary.

She smelled nice, he thought fleetingly as dust filled his lungs and heat enveloped him until nothing remained.

=/\=

General Cota watched as Romulan missiles tore up the jumpgate in nuclear fire while drone-ships knocked out Andoria's defense grid. The two EarthForce Hyperion ships delivered long-range barrages of laser and plasma fire even as their object of protection died. He regretted the vortex generator's destruction but he understood the Romulan way of thinking. They had seen the way the Earth Explorer open a vortex in it and vanished into it. It therefore revealed the fact that the jumpgate would serve as a gateway for reinforcements. Destroying it would deny passage for any reinforcement.

The jumpgate could be rebuilt. After all, the EAS Cortez managed to jump through it into the relative safety of hyperspace.

The Tamar rocked under Romulan fire. Cota had chosen this ship because he felt that Captain Thy'lek Shran would be an ideal loyal defender of the homeworld, especially when he has a wife on Andoria, though an Aenar.

So far, the Imperial Guard had been holding its own against the Romulans though with serious losses. The debris of destroyed ships, both Andorian and Romulan, was becoming a hazard in near-Andor space.

"General!" cried Shran. "Andoria!" He pointed at the half-moon shaped viewscreen.

They could see the green Romulan ships entering orbit, using their beam weaponry and drone-ships to fight off enemy ships and to eliminate more defense satellites, while sending missiles down to Andoria's surface. A fire-colored bloom appeared over where the capital city Laibok was.

Rage twisted Shran's face. "Uzaveh!"

Cota's antennae stood up ramrod straight. He understood Shran's invocation of the chief Andorian god. The Romulans were bombing Andoria! _The_ World! In a corner of his mind, he understood why: conquering Andoria would be impossible because the people would resist in any way they could, so a bombing would be more prudent for enemy forces. That was actually the conclusion that the Imperial Guard Command came to concerning a possible Vulcan assault on Andoria before the Romulan War. But why do it now when there was still a substantial force fighting the Romulans?

Lieutenant Tarah marched quickly from a manned communication station. She said, "Sir, we lost contact with the Guard Command bunker." She hesitated before continuing. "And the Caldoné."

The Andorian Parliament. It was gone, too. If he survived, the highest ranking Guardsman would now be General Telev. Shran's antennae now curled tightly down to his white hair. It was the equivalent of a Human bunching his fists in anger, frustration or in an attempt to control raging emotions. "Jhamel," he whispered to himself.

A chirp sounded at the communications console. The comm. officer reported, "Sir, we're getting a message, audio only. It's system-wide." He hesitated before adding, "General, it's from the Romulans."

Everyone who heard that looked up in surprise. So far in the war, the Romulans had not deigned to communicate with any member of the Coalition of Planets. "Put it up," ordered Cota.

"…_to all Coalition ships in the Andor System, cease fire. Repeat, this is the commander of the Romulan forces to all Coalition ships in the Andor System, cease fire. If you do not cease fire, I will continue to bomb the cities of Andoria."_

Shran shook in his rage. "We're not surrendering! Tell all ships to destroy those…those pirates!"

General Cota quickly stepped forward. "Wait. There are billions of people down there. Maybe the Romulans want to talk, discuss a cease fire. They have to know they can't win here."

They could see many of the surviving ships hesitating at the message, clearly thinking of the people. A few, though, were not so restrained. They rushed at the second and larger Romulan fleet in orbit.

Immediately, several birds of prey launched missiles at Andoria. Five cities died in atomic fire. Several of the onrushing Andorians halted their advance while others continued. The Romulan fleet then fired particle beams en-masse at the still advancing Andorians, disabling most of them and destroying three battle cruisers.

Cota's antennae bent over backward in grim realization. If he had not restrained Shran, the Tamar would have been one of those ships. After this incident, there were only eleven Andorian warships still fully functional in the system, plus the heavily damaged Columbia and the two EarthForce cruisers hanging back. Starfuries still made their runs, but were no longer firing. The cruel and treacherous Romulans, on the other hands, still had fifteen warships, many of which were drone-ships. The odds were not in their favor.

Moreover, the Romulans were now holding Andoria hostage.

"Now what?" growled Shran.

=/\=

Caitlin was glad of the break. She was getting sick and tired of dodging the demonic drone-ships. The starfuries had scored hits, but most of the hits only damaged the drones. Still, they weakened the hull enough for the Hyperion ships to blow some of the drones to bits.

She had been shocked by the Romulan destruction of the jumpgate. Back home, that was one of the biggest taboos in warfare. But then, the locals did not understand the importance of jumpgates.

"_Now what?"_ said Felix Blanc in her earpiece.

She had been wondering the same thing even if she was glad of the break in the shooting. She had privately realized that if Andoria falls, the Andorian Empire would be effectively removed as a power and there would be no more Andorian help for the Earth Alliance against the Minbari. It also meant that without the Andorian Empire, the United Earth Starfleet would be effectively alone in fighting the Romulans, assisted by the small power of the Tellarite Alliance. To effectively combat the Romulans, Starfleet would have to pull their ships from the Minbari theater and the Earth Alliance would be back at square one. "I don't know, Tweeky. I don't know."

=/\=

General Smits and Jhamel sat anxiously in their cabin. They were in a spherical tubeway car whose other cabins were occupied by Andorians fleeing the capital city toward where they perceived safety from Romulan attack. Smits looked over to make sure that Jhamel was comfortable sleeping on a couch-like seat. The young Aenar woman seemed little more than a girl and that made him think of his daughter back on Earth.

There was nothing he could do for his daughter from inside Andoria. Smits looked around at the windowless seating cabin. Now this was a marvel of technology for the Earther. Andoria had a planet-wide network of underground tubeways running right through the planet's crust. As described in the datanet, the construction of tubeways followed the method of ice-bores, incredibly hot worm-like creatures, used to burrow through ice and glaciers. The Andorians melted tunnels through glaciers by extreme heat, and through the bedrock and crust by machines wielding fusion torches that sounded like frying bacon. That had made the tunnels glassy-smooth. Magnetic rings, powered with geothermal energy, maintained the tunnels' structural integrity. The tube-cars themselves were giant windowless spheres that used the magnetic rings to move supersonically through the tunnels. The carriages were double-hulled to allow the outer sphere to roll, leaving the passengers undisturbed by the motion. When necessary, tube-cars would orient themselves to fit the destination, turning as it traveled through hemispheres, leaving the passengers standing upright. When going to the other side of Andoria, the tunnels burrowed deep through the crust, curving only to avoid the magma layer. This type of direct short cut through a planet, when combined with supersonic speeds, significantly cut down travel time.

That added to the benefit of avoiding the dangers and extreme cold of Andoria's surface. Smits thought he would have to bring this idea back to the Earth Alliance.

A chime sounded and a voice made an announcement in Andorii. A small monitor screen on a wall automatically translated the announcement into English: "We are departing La'Len Port and Issa City."

Finally. That meant most of the other passengers had disembarked. Those northernmost of Andorian cities were not Smits' destination. He felt he had a duty to bring Jhamel to her home among the Aenar. Smits was grateful for the fact that the Andorian government began to extend the tubeway network to Aenar cities shortly before the Romulan War. Otherwise, this would have been the end of the line and they would have to find some other transport, perhaps a shuttle.

The Earther general knew that would not be safe at the moment.

=/\=

"Sensor contact!"

Captain Erika Hernandez snapped her attention from the Romulan fleet orbiting Andoria on the main viewscreen to her alarmed senior tactical officer, Lieutenant Kiona Thayer. "Lieutenant?"

"Captain, make that sixteen contacts. Coming in from above the system's plane toward Andoria's north pole at warp 1.3."

"Reinforcements?" nervously wondered the communications officer, Ensign Sidra Valerian.

Erika noticed that Sidra did not say whose reinforcements. She took a step forward toward the helmsman, Lt. Reiko Akagi. "Bring us about." She glanced back at Thayer. "Can you see them?"

She looked up from her console. "I can't get a lock on them. They're jamming our sensors."

Lieutenant Khalil al-Rashid, the ship's second officer and sciences expert, intensified his efforts on his own console. "Here. I think we can see them onscreen now."

As promised, the main viewscreen displayed a blurred image of vessels bearing down from above. Soon, the image cleared and Erika saw that they were Romulan ships. To be precise, three birds of prey, three drone-ships and ten vessels of a class that they had not seen before. Comparatively a little smaller than the birds of prey, they appeared to be large cigars with stubby down-sloping wings holding small cylindrical warp nacelles. Faint outlines of feathers could be seen carved into the top of the wings. Like all Romulan ships seen so far in the war, they bore the painted device of a winged predator bird on the underbelly though this time, it was green-blue instead of gold-red.

"I'm breaking through the sensor jamming," reported Thayer. "I'm reading two laser cannons, nuclear missiles, polarized hull plating, and no shields."

"They can't be warships," said Commander Veronica Fletcher, the Columbia's first officer. Puzzled, she added, "Without our upgrades, even EarthForce could take them."

Soon, the new Romulan fleet dropped out of warp and the cigar-shaped vessels immediately broke away from the drones and birds, maneuvering their way into Andoria's atmosphere toward the northernmost regions. Erika realized what they were. Right after she voiced her realization, everyone else knew that she was right.

"Troop transports."


	28. A Feast of Death

**A Feast of Death**

"_But, O malignant and ill-boding stars!_

_Now thou art come unto a feast of death."_

–Talbot, William Shakespeare's **Henry VI** Act 4, Scene 5

**Aenar City Argali**

**Northern Wastes, Andoria**

Two Human soldiers sat at an entrance into the Aenar city in its underground ice-cavern. Privates Vasquez and Lawrence were assigned to watch for anyone coming to Argali. To stave off the boredom, the two GROPOS played cards. Lawrence looked up, distracted by the alien look of the city architecture. The city looked like a collection of square and round ships connected to each other and to glacial stalagmites and stalactites.

Lawrence concentrated on the card game. He took three coins from his stack and tossed it on top of the upturned crate set for the purpose. There was already a small pile of coins.

Vasquez smirked. "Not confident in your hand, huh?"

The demolitions expert narrowed his eyes at Vasquez. She shrugged and flipped a large coin onto the crate top. Lawrence scoffed. "And you say I'm not confident?"

Vasquez smirked again. "Fuck you."

"Anytime. Anywhere."

She chuckled ruefully and good-naturedly.

He made a come-hither wave. "C'mon. Stop wasting time."

The female marine took up a stack of cards set for the purpose and put down four cards on the crate, two for Lawrence and two for herself. They each took up the cards and added them to their hands. Lawrence held up his hand to his face, eyeing his friend suspiciously over the cards. She eyed him back over her own cards.

The staring contest continued until Vasquez laid her cards down to the crate top. Her hand had two twos and three sevens. A full house.

Lawrence frowned and looked closely at his hand, while she crossed her arms smugly. His eyes lifted from the cards to Vasquez.

She said, "Well?"

He smiled. He lowered his hand. Vasquez was now worried and she watched the lowering cards carefully. If Lawrence somehow managed to beat her full house, she would lose the pot and be humiliated.

When the five cards were finally visible to her, she immediately identified them in her mind. A single spade preceded progressively increasing numbers of the same symbol. Her mouth dropped open.

It was a straight flush.

_Choom!_ An explosion burst through the cavern's curving glacial wall.

The two GROPOS instinctively scrambled for cover. Cards flew everywhere and coins tumbled all over the ground.

"What the hell—!" shouted Lawrence.

Vasquez sat up and looked around. Her eyes fell upon the crate. She laughed. "Look! It's all gone! You can't win!"

Lawrence chuckled and held up his cards. He had managed to hold onto them when he scrambled for cover. He tossed them onto the crate, making Vasquez grit her teeth and ball her fists in frustration.

The lights went out all over the Aenar city.

That reinforced the urgency of the situation. The two Earther marines jumped up, grabbing their PPG rifles.

The glittering snowy dust and flakes settled. A tall bipedal armored and helmeted being appeared.

The helmet made the Humans think of a locust's head. The two thin red plume-like feelers rising from the helmet increased the effect. The armor was dark purple, blue and black. Both armor and helmet were treated in such a way that it was iridescent, catching the light like a beetle's back. Shadows of more of the armored being's fellows appeared behind it. There seemed to be too many to count. All were carrying gleaming rifles with organic contours.

Lawrence swore.

Vasquez swore, too, and shouted, "Let's get outta here! C'mon!"

The Humans retreated into the city entrance, firing their PPG rifles. The phased plasma bolts seemed to have little effect on the armor except that their kinetic impact made the insectoid being stumble as he returned fire with blue-green beams.

Once through the huge door into the city, Vasquez slapped a panel and the door slid shut. She then shot at the control panel, destroying it.

"That should hold them for a while. Damn. We need explosive rounds." She turned to run. "Psycho, come on! We gotta get to the others!"

=/\=

At this moment, the Aenar all sensed the alien intruders. Speaker Lissan stopped speaking at the negotiations, a dawning horror on her face. Her words to the Humans had been proven false.

Lissan looked into the minds of the advancing intruders and got a mental picture of the intruders' appearance. What she saw terrified her. The intruders were powerful monstrous alien creatures, tall and ashen-skinned with pointed ears, sharp fangs and large heads. They had greater physical strength and endurance than most humanoid species known to the Aenar. These lethal aliens were actually slaves.

That surprised Lissan more than the grotesque nature of the intruders. She, and other Aenar, could see the aliens toiling in mines and struggling to live on a harsh radioactive and dark world. The slave-soldiers held immense danger for the pacifistic Aenar. Even now, the Aenar could see more cigar-shaped ships entering the Andorian atmosphere, following the one that had already landed near Argali. They carried more of the alien slave-soldiers destined for the other Aenar cities in the Northern Wastes.

Worse, they had limited telepathic powers. Even now, some of the slave-soldiers sensed the Aenar intrusion into their minds and attempted to shake them off.

The Aenar city of Argali came to a communal consensus. They would repel the intruders and preserve their pacifism at the same time.

The thunder roll of an explosion sounded, rumbling the room that Lissan were in with the Humans.

Carter looked up at the ceiling. "Was that a bomb?"

Lissan said, "We are under attack."

The lights winked out. The Humans could barely make out Lissan and each other in the resulting blue dimness. "Romulans," gasped Ellen.

"I thought you're not a threat!" accused Anthony Rogers.

The Aenar Speaker did not look embarrassed. "Apparently, they want us."

Xanatos peered at the taller alien woman, wondering if she had used her telepathy to figure that out.

The door to the meeting room slammed open. The corporate Humans jumped. Carter yelped.

Major Donna O'Neill raked the room with a rifle-mounted flashlight. Lieutenant Gorman and Private Hudson had the dark visor of their helmets slid down over their eyes. They checked the room and saw that everyone was present. Donna said, "The city's under attack."

"We know," snapped Carter.

"Go with D.O.," ordered Gorman. "She'll take you to the Aenar medical center. It's farthest from the city perimeter."

The Humans and Lissan stood to go. Ellen reached a hand out to Donna. "Where're the others?"

"They're setting up defense points."

"Yeah," put in Hudson as he tapped the smooth dome of his helmet. The dark glass-looking visor hiding his eyes slightly disconcerted Ellen. "We are state of the art badasses. Don't worry. We will protect you. We got tactical smart missiles, phased-plasma rifles, RPG's. We got electronic sonic ball-breakers; we got knives, sharp sticks—"

Gorman grabbed Hudson's arm. His voice was low but it carried. "Save it."

"Yes, sir."

Ellen hoped that Hudson's confidence was not futile.

"Let's go!" said Carter.

As they filed out of the room, Donna leaned over to Ellen. "Ma'am, do you know where's Major Talok?"

Ellen shook her head, causing the MACO to frown in consternation.

=/\=

Lawrence glanced at the readings provided by the HUD on his visor. His helmet visor's HUD vision included crosshairs for guns, life-status of co-troopers, IFF indicators which identified friends and foes with colored body outlines and symbols placed on those he saw in person. The visor HUD also included the number of shots left in his weapons and short text-messages from the squad commander. It could also give infrared vision and night vision. The squad commander had tactical map displays on his own visor HUD.

The infrared vision was how Lawrence spied the invaders in the blacked out city. The armored and helmeted aliens stomped past a corner in one of the city corridors. The insectoid-seeming invaders were sweeping the corridor with their sleek rifles. They did not use flashlights to repel the darkness reigning in the Aenar city. Therefore, they had either infrared vision or night vision as well.

Lawrence jumped as the intruders opened fire with their rifles. His initial fear turned to confusion. The invaders were blazing away at a bare patch of floor and wall. Several of the armored beings were weaving and firing blue bolts as they went. One of them jerked as if he was hit. That caused the rest of them to dive to the ground as if someone was shooting at them.

The firing slowed and then stopped. One of the armored aliens stood up and shouted orders. That was the first time that Lawrence heard what he assumed to be the Romulan tongue. It seemed smooth and somewhat relaxing. That clashed with the image of the Romulans being so warlike and treacherous.

The invaders seemed to be looking at things on the ground. All Lawrence saw was scorched marks. The invaders tended to their fallen comrade.

"What's the hell happening?" Apone whispered into his helmet's radio. "They're shooting at invisible somethings!"

A tall Aenar woman appeared in the entrance of another corridor. The Humans recognized her to be Speaker Lissan. She crossed over to the GROPOS within full view of the invaders who did not notice her at all.

"Hey," whispered Vasquez, "she has eyes now."

Lissan was looking over each of the Humans with blue eyes that were clearly not blind. She was still standing where the enemy should have seen her. So far, the enemy still had not noticed her despite the circumstances.

The hair on the back of Lawrence's neck rose.

Lissan spoke. "Be reassured. We are confusing their minds with telepathic hallucinations. I am still with the corporate representatives."

That sent a chill down the spines of the huddled GROPOS.

"I did not need to know that," grumbled Hudson.

At that moment, another armored being appeared, joining the first group. Harsh words were exchanged. The fallen invader rose, shaking its helmeted head. The others seemed tense up and were warily looking around.

Lissan raised fingers to her temple. She seemed to be feeling a headache. "Some of them have limited telepathic powers. They're resisting us." Her antennae waved agitatedly as she frowned in concentration. Then her body seemed to waver and it quickly faded out of existence.

That chilled the Humans again, much more than the information about telepathic obfuscation. It was as if they had been communicating with a ghost.

"This is CATFU," whispered Hudson apprehensively.

The enemy soldiers instantly turned in the direction of the GROPOS.

Vasquez nodded to Hudson with grim satisfaction. "Let's rock."

They opened up simultaneously, lighting up the dark corridor with plasma bolts.

Vasquez was riveted to the targeting crosshairs on her visor, moving ferret-quick in a pivoting dance. The thunder and lightning of weapons fire was better than sex for her. One of the armored aliens shrieked.

The infrared vision in Lawrence visor showed more enemy soldiers appearing behind the group of armored invaders. That meant too much trouble for the GROPOS to handle.

Lawrence pressed a button on the wrist of his uniform.

The world was consumed by deafening thunder and a blinding light.

When the Humans' protective visors cleared, they could see pieces of mangled armor, torn body parts and green blood spattered everywhere. The corridor itself was ruined, walls, floor and ceiling torn and blackened with some pieces still glowing and smoking with heat.

Vasquez was panting when she turned to look over her shoulder at Lawrence. "Good call there."

"Coulda warned us," Corporal Hicks groused as he raised his visor to rub his eyes hard. "You psycho."

Lawrence grinned widely. "That's my name, sir!"

=/\=

Lissan held her head in her hands as she winced and bent forward.

Ellen Rimbauer peered at the Aenar Speaker with concern. "Lissan? Are you all right?"

The Aenar waved a hand beside her head as if to shoo off an insect. Her antennae were weaving with distress. "Pain. Don't worry. It is no more than a headache. It is…uncomfortable for us to grapple with the Remans."

Major Donna O'Neill exchanged a glance with Ellen. "Remans, Speaker? Then we're not fighting the Romulans?"

"You are fighting the Romulan Empire." At the Humans' expression of confusion, Lissan added, "The ones attacking our city are the Romulans' slave-soldiers."

"Janissaries," said Kosaku.

"As I understand the term, yes," confirmed Lissan. "A few have the telepathic powers to fight us. You will have to handle them."

A new voice intruded: "We'll do that."

General Smits came out of the darkness with a young Aenar woman leading him by the hand.

Lissan said "Jhamel" by way of greeting.

"Lissan. How is my daughter?"

The taller Aenar woman paused as she seemed to listen to something in the air. "Talla is fine. She is with your sister-wife and brother-husband."

Jhamel let out a sigh of relief. "I apologize for this. I was too anxious to look through the communal consensus."

General Smits had just received the situation report from Lieutenant Gorman and Donna. He said, "We figured that this city would be under attack as soon as we got out of the tube-car. There's no power in the city."

Lissan said, "There shouldn't be any power failure. Argali uses a geothermal tap. The Remans are nowhere near the tap."

"Sabotage," realized Smits. "Are there other…Remans coming?"

Again, the Speaker seemed to be listening to the air. "The transport was assigned to this city. The other transports are going to the other Aenar cities. The other communities are distracting the other transports from their destination." Lissan sighed in distress. "If they remain stubborn or do not see through the illusion, the other Remans will die in the cold, thinking that they are in the warmth of our cities."

Smits said, "It's either you or them."

"That does not comfort us. We are compromising our pacifism. We have always refused to participate in the wars that the Andorian Imperial Guard fought. And now war has come to us."

"That's the thing I don't understand," put in Carter Burke. "You're pacifists. What could the Romulans want with you?"

Lissan was silent. Until Xanatos pressed, "It has something to do with telepathy, isn't it?"

The Aenar nodded. "We sense the use of telepaths in the battle raging above our homeworld."

With dawning realization, Smits said, "It has to do with telepresence technology, isn't it? You need telepaths for the unit to remote-control ships."

A nod confirmed the Earther general's statement.

"Don't worry, Lissan," said Lt. Gorman. "We won't let them get you."

"That's what we are worried about. More blood will be spilled before we are done."

As if to reinforce that point, Gorman shouted, "Take cover! Take cover!"

The Humans and Aenar dove for cover as blue energy bolts banished the darkness.

"Damn it!" yelled Carter.

Smits drowned out Carter by shouting, "Let's spray and pray!"

Plasma bolts from Gorman's rifle and Smits' PPG pistol joined the storm of blue bolts along with Donna's MACO pulse rifle's bluish white pulses. There was lots of screaming adding to the confusion. Gorman and Carter fell wounded. D.O. threw a stun grenade, creating a flash of white light. Most of the Remans, protected by their armor and insectoid helmets, remained conscious.

Another grenade was thrown, this time by the wounded Gorman. Thunderous flames bloomed. One more Earther grenade quickly followed for good measure. As the thunder of the grenade's detonation faded, silence fell upon the ruined and smoking corridor. Mangled bits of armor, body parts and green blood were everywhere.

"Game over, man!" shouted Lawrence with relief.

Anthony Rogers retched as Kosaku Shima grimly pressed a torn cloth onto Gorman's wound. Ellen was doing her own best not to sick up at the sight of the carnage wreaked. The Earther telepath rubbed his temples as if he was developing a headache. Smits squatted down beside Lissan. "Hey, you all right?"

A trembling hand went to her throat. "Yes…yes, I am." Her antennae drooped. "Mr. Burke, however, is not."

Carter's stare held no life in it.

Two armored Remans appeared, flanking Major Talok who seemed to be leading the alien slave-soldiers. In the dimness, the metallic sheen in the major's Vulcan High Command uniform matched the purple-blue iridescence in the Remans' armor.

Talok's presence and behavior confused Gorman. "What the hell?"

David Xanatos stood up and glared straight at Talok. The PsiCorps commercial telepath intensely said, "Pain."

The Vulcan grabbed his head and doubled over screaming in pain. The Humans took advantage of the opening by concentrating their fire on the flanking Remans and dropping them.

Smits toed Talok's unconscious body. "What's a Vulcan doing working with these creatures?"

Xanatos, panting, said, "Just before he blacked out, I caught his real name. Vaebn."

"A Romulan agent," realized Ellen.

"But why would a Vulcan work for the Romulans?" wondered Donna.

Smits scowled down at Vaebn's body. "That's what I intend to find out, D.O."

=/\=

Viceroy Orlok looked over the bloody mess near the Aenar city's entrance. His sharp ears caught a moan coming from within an unrecognizable green bloody mess. The Reman viceroy used his staff of office to point at the pile and two slave-soldiers hurried to reach into the wet muck and pulled out a more or less intact body.

Orlok leaned in closely. He recognized the soldier when the helmet was pulled off. "Tenakruvek. The Elements seem to be protecting you."

A pained groan was the only response. It took a lot for the sturdy Remans to show the weakness of pain. Orlok was amused. This was the second time that Tenakruvek had his brush with death. The Human weapons should have killed him, but he barely survived. Tenakruvek's first near-death experience was during the conquest of Tranome Sar. As Orlok watched the Remans carry Tenakruvek out of the city, he thought of how some Remans believe that when they die, their souls reincarnated on Romulus, which was paradise to them. It was only after that that Reman souls could hope to enter the Halls of Erebus. However, many other Remans believe that their existence was the only one available to them. If that was true, Tenakruvek was given yet another chance to make the most of his existence.

The wounded Reman blinked his eyes open up at Orlok.

The viceroy said, "You try very hard to make up for something that was never your fault. Look at you now. You didn't choose this kind of life, and yet you have to work so hard."

A pained chuckle escaped Tenakruvek's bloody mouth. "I don't know that I'm making up for anything," he disagreed lightly. "Like everything in life, I just had to decide what to do with what I was given."

Orlok nodded approvingly as he laid a hand on the wounded Reman's forehead. His telepathy soon slipped Tenakruvek into blissful unconsciousness. He did not think it a kindness to inform the wounded warrior of the order to withdraw from Andoria or of the circumstances that spawned that order.

He looked around at the battle-scarred Aenar city before turning his back on it. The Remans had come, expecting no resistance from the pacifist Aenar. It was unfortunate that there were armed Humans in this particular city. He had hoped to be the first to bring prisoners to Valdore, thereby contributing to the Star Empire's drone-ship program.

When he came out of the network of glacial tunnels, he looked around at the cold bleakness before turning his eyes heavenward.

Viceroy Orlok hoped that the other transports succeeded where his failed.

If not, they would not have reaped rewards from this assault. No matter the result, the Romulans would destroy Andoria. That would achieve the goal of knocking the Andorian Empire out of the war.

That was better than nothing.

**ChR Rea's Helm**

"Sir," said Sub-Commander Chulak, "Daise'Khre'Enriov Valdore is ordering us to target the _oira_ of all enemy ships."

Admiral Lasus peered into his viewing scope. He understood Admiral Valdore's order. It made no tactical sense to put the command deck on the very top of a vessel where it was easily exposed to enemy fire. The Human confidence in their starship construction was foolish.

At this moment, Valdore's fleet was holding Andoria hostage. The enemy alliance was hesitating to continue hostilities lest more Andorian cities died in nuclear fire. Most Andorian cities were underground, shunning the cold surface and taking advantage of the warmth afforded by geothermal energy. However, deep-impact nuclear missiles could reach them, as some did recently. Lasus wondered how this planet was able to spawn advanced life forms, much less sentience.

The readings on Lasus' console told him that the shields on the Rea's Helm were holding at sixty percent, the limit of what battlefield repairs could do considering the damages. A concentrated burst of energy fire could possibly punch through the shields at a single point and inflict massive damage. Lasus intended to live, to see himself come out of the shadow cast by his father, Senator Mezen, and see the Star Empire triumph.

"Khre'riov…." Centurion Terix looked and sounded worried. Lasus looked up from his viewing scope to listen. "Sir, I'm detecting system wide energy spikes."

"System wide?" Lasus speared the anxious-looking young man with a look. "Ship system or planetary system?"

"Planetary system, sir." The centurion frowned at the readings. "It's all around Andoria."

"Confirmed," Sub-Commander Chulak declared from his board. "It looks like a series of tightbeam communications," he continued.

"Isolate their destination," Lasus snapped to Terix. The Andorians were probably summoning reinforcements. "Scan for warp signatures outside the system." His eyes jumped to Commander Chulak. "Inform the Daise'Khre'Enriov."

"Multiple subspace distortions detected!" Centurion Terix suddenly shouted, his eyes wide.

"Energy spike!" Chulak bellowed at the same time.

A second later, chaos reigned.

=/\=

Twelve blue jumppoints bloomed open. Twelve Earth Alliance Nova-class warships flew out. Six Hyperion-class cruisers, eight Delos-class corvettes and ten Andorian Taholsin-class destroyers came with them. The Andorian destroyers were the size of Starfleet's Delta-class corvettes. The Delos corvettes were originally of the Olympus-class before they were recently upgraded with Starfleet technology.

On the warbird Bloodwing, Admiral Valdore watched them in the holo-tank with a sense of betrayal. The treacherous Humans and their allies were turning his carefully laid plans into a disaster.

"All ships, all batteries, fire at will! Kill them all!"

The Romulan warships arrayed above Andoria and holding the line against the enemy alliance's combined fleets turned to lock on and prepare to fire. However, EarthForce got its volley in first. The EarthForce Hyperion cruisers engaged the two birds-of-prey assigned to guard Valdore's warbird, close range plasma bolts slamming into Romulan shields and armor. More disturbing than the white and blue cruisers with powerful rocket-like ion engines were the twelve largest ships that were little more than iron bricks with guns attached.

Valdore was about to see Nova-class dreadnoughts open fire upon Romulan ships for the first time in the war.

The Earth ships had the advantage of surprise. Fed data by the Earthers guarding the destroyed jumpgate and by the Andorians, they knew where the Romulans were. They had preprogrammed their locations into their targeting computers while still in hyperspace from the shipyards at Brok'va, also known as Andor IV. The Nova dreadnoughts cut most of their engines, shifting the power to their weapons. Cruising under their own momentum away from the closing jumppoints, they laid in oblique courses toward the Romulans in order to maximize the number of guns that could be brought to bear.

The multiple heavy guns of the Novas were all entirely automated, thickly armored turrets crammed with machinery needed to move the vast guns, each barrel made of the latest alloys weighing tens of thousands of tons each. To make them move at a speed that was even vaguely useful, massive gears and engines had to be installed further increasing the size of the turrets and in turn the size of the dreadnoughts themselves in order to support this arsenal.

The forward guns now slowly roused from their slumber and swung toward Valdore's fleet, the long heavy barrels depressing for a pointblank broadside. Admiral Valdore quickly looked into a viewing scope and stared down the barrels of thirty guns on one of the dreadnoughts. It was becoming clear to him that this was not going to end well.

The dreadnought, the name Tirpitz emblazoned on its side, unleashed its wrath. The highly powered lances of crimson energy reached out to meet the still frantically maneuvering Romulan warships and struck each vessel with at least four beams. Shields visibly struggled to repel the firepower of the Nova's infamous magnitude.

Eight separate red beams fired again, two of which found their mark and penetrated the shields of a Romulan bird-of-prey, burning through its upper hull. The two glowing wounds did not destroy the ship but they caused enough damage to make it an easy kill for the several of the Delos ships.

The Delos each had four phase pulse cannons, two twin particle cannons, two point-defense plasma cannons and four torpedo launchers. Polarized hull plating was laid over the already thick EarthForce armor and Starfleet artificial gravity technology made the small tough vessel quite maneuverable. Two small stubby warp nacelles indicated their warp capability, though powered by their four Earther fusion reactors, which were refined by Starfleet engineers. Those four fusion reactors now powered the phase pulse cannons now raining fire into the wounded bird of prey, which disappeared in titanic flames and plasma.

The Hyperions had not been upgraded with Starfleet technology yet but the Romulans could still feel their firepower. The impact of their plasma rounds and laser beams was enough to force birds-of-prey and warbirds out of formation.

The rain of laser fire continued to claim victims as the Romulans swung around, the dreadnoughts' cannons tracking them as they moved. The carnage was horrific: ship followed ship to explode in molten violence on both sides. Green particle shots brushed past the Earther interceptors to hit the thick armor of the Human ships. The weaker shots made deep glowing craters in the thick armor while stronger shots blew holes, which then spewed Human bodies into the vacuum of space. The wounded ships continued to fight. When Romulan weapons touched engines and gun ports, secondary explosions tore ships from the inside, leaving them dying hulks in space.

"Cruel, treacherous!" snarled Valdore as he saw the chaos dominating the sight of his scope. Wreckage from vessels in Fleet IX Romii littered the view as the Human reinforcements pounced upon the scrambling Romulans. Nacelles, torn free from destroyed birds-of-prey, tumbled end over end while he watched another bird of prey, too heavily damaged to continue the battle, self-destructed with a fiery flash.

The small Andorian destroyers made straight for Fleet VI Inaieu. They tore into the fleet's cigar-shaped troop transports and their better-armed escorts. The transports, which were only converted warships of a previous generation, were ill equipped to deal with the new threat. Each only had two laser cannons, nuclear missiles, polarized hull plating and no shields. One transport, lifting off from the surface of Andoria, immediately engaged its warp engines and fled the scene.

Half of the Nova dreadnoughts lumbered around to train their cannons on Fleet III Devron, now fighting the Andorian Imperial Guard and the lone Starfleet ship, the Columbia.

Valdore's warbird, the Bloodwing, locked weapons on two of the Delos ships. Particle cannon fire slashed out, slicing into the lead Delos' polarized hull. A steady stream of nuclear missiles leapt from the launch tubes and surged toward the Earther ship. Most of them were ripped apart by the Delos' interceptor grid, but a trio exploded blindingly, throwing the Earther corvette off course.

"Evasive!" ordered Valdore. Bloodwing's engines growled and the inertial dampener struggled as the warbird banked hard under retaliation fire from the Earthers. Laser beams, plasma bolts and phase pulses splashed against the shields, as several trios of starfuries raced through the void, firing tiny plasma bolts. Romulan drone-ships adeptly evaded enemy fire and shot down most of the starfuries. However, whenever a bird of prey was destroyed, at least one surviving drone-ship, more often both than not, became inactive as their controlling telepaths died with the birds. The Andorians and Humans instantly fell upon these with a vengeance, reducing them into expanding fields of heated gases and debris.

Bloodwing shook under Earther fire.

"Defense screens down to twenty percent!"

Valdore could not identify who gave the report, busy as he was with trying to get this deteriorating situation back under control. Another explosion dominated the holo-tank. The tank's computer isolated the source. He frowned at the image of the bird of prey named the Sapotius slowly breaking apart. Commander Galathon, the leader of Fleet VI Inaieu, was now dead.

Bloodwing shook under another salvo of Earther as the helm sent the warbird into a twisting climb to evade Human guns. Unfortunately, that brought it into range of surviving defense platforms orbiting Andoria. Andorian fire added their pressure.

Admiral Valdore i'Kaleh was angry—no, he was furious! He shivered at the primal emotion simmering and surging within himself. "Rally all forces!"

Before the other Romulan ships could respond to his order, Bloodwing shuddered. An instant later, the hull breach alarm began to sound. To make matters worse, Valdore saw one of the dreadnoughts train all of its guns on his own warbird. He knew that he would enter the Halls of Erebus very soon.

There was no time for Last Review.

=/\=

Caitlin "The Lady" O'Shaunnessy yanked her joystick, causing her starfury to swerve to the right, narrowly avoiding a particle beam from a drone-ship. She continued to gun her engines to catch up to the drone-ship chasing Felix's fury. Jeffrey Sinclair accompanied Caitlin in the chase to save the life of Felix Blanc.

"_Tweeky, I'm coming!"_ called Joshua Ellis.

Caitlin saw Ellis' fury rush into the fray. An emerald green beam grazed his fury, destroying an engine pod. The X-shaped fighter spun out of control.

"Knight!"

"_I'm okay! I'm okay! Just get Tweeky out of there!"_

Just then, Felix spun his fury around on a dime so that his guns pointed at the chasing drone-ship while he still ran from it. Twin plasma bolters spat fire. The drone-ship shrugged off the fire and shot off one of Felix's four wings. His starfury spun out of control until it crashed and exploded into the hull of a bird of prey.

Maddened by rage and grief, Caitlin and Ellis continued to chase down and shoot at the offending drone-ship as it passed the bird. Meanwhile, the bird worked with another to hammer into one of the heavily armored Novas. Explosions soon consumed the Nova. However, retaliation came in the form of powerful twin crimson beams spearing into one of the birds of prey, crumpling it in flames.

Another bird of prey, assisted by its two drone-ships, turned its vengeful attention upon this Nova even as a Hyperion worked to bring down the first bird of prey.

All this, Caitlin was dimly aware as she poured her fire into the suddenly inactive drone-ship, shattering it like an egg with Clark's help.

A starfury shattered under enemy fire and its main body, carried by its momentum, rushed toward Caitlin's fury. She instinctively shot it down and swallowed a lump. She did not know whether the fury's pilot lived to see a fellow fighter destroy him. There would be time for regrets later.

Sinclair shouted, _"Death's Hands, on me!"_

The summoned furies converged on Sinclair to form a wolf pack on another bird of prey. Clearly, the commander of the Death's Hand squadron reasoned that if they brought down a bird and killed its telepaths, they would make two more drone-ships easily destructible.

It was going to be a difficult battle. Caitlin would relish it.

**Andorian Imperial Warship Tamar**

An explosion rocked the Tamar.

Captain Thy'lek Shran thought of his daughter, Talla. She was two Earth years old at this moment and he hoped that she, his beloved Jhamel and his co-spouses, Shenar and Vishri, were safe from the Romulan invaders. Sometimes, he thought he could almost sense Jhamel. Despite the dire situation Shran was in now, he smiled at the thought of Jhamel.

She had understood his feelings for Lieutenant Talas and had allowed him to name his daughter after his dead lover. Having such an understanding and loving wife made everything worth it. Combined with patriotism, Shran would defend Andoria to the last of his breath. Though the Imperial Command and the Parliament had died in nuclear fire, they would all fight on.

Lieutenant Tarah said, "The Lokune reports they have destroyed all of the troop transports!"

General Cota grunted in satisfaction. Andoria was safe from invasion. Most of all, Jhamel and Talla were safe.

"Target the nearest lead ship," ordered Cota.

The helmsman, a young Andorian by the name of Teln, obeyed without hesitation. The battle cruiser banked sharply in a starboard direction.

"We're running low on torpedoes," said Tarah.

Even as Tarah spoke, the Tamar unleashed the last of its ordnance. Torpedoes smashed into a drone-ship that was making an attack run at the Columbia and into a warbird that was making its way past toward Andoria. Flashes of nuclear fire ripped the unmanned vessel apart and sent lethal shrapnel spinning into a second drone-ship. As the second vessel shuddered under the unexpected damage, the five particle cannons mounted on the Tamar opened up, slicing into the wounded craft with ruthless precision. Hull plating burned away, exposing the delicate inner workings of the drone. A second barrage of fire expertly cut the craft in two.

Almost immediately, two drone-ships oriented themselves on the Tamar, banking sharply away from their attack runs and preventing Shran from following the warbird. His battle cruiser seemed to groan as Ante-Lieutenant Teln sent it into a tight spiraling dive to avoid the incoming fire. A bird of prey, presumably the controller of the drones, followed suit.

Incandescent flashes of energy flashed through the void as the three Romulan ships bracketed the Tamarwith fire. Torpedoes streaked across the endless night, detonating with fierce destructive energy that rattled the Andorian battle cruiser. Hull breach alarms began shrieking but, at a sharp glance from Shran, the officer operating the damage control board silenced them.

Lumbering forward with ungainly grace, the EAS Hyperion surged into weapons range, offensive systems spitting fire. A quartet of Earther missiles struck a bird of prey amidships, exploding with such concussive force that the warship went tumbling into one of the drones. Pulse cannon and laser fire carved angry gashes across the bird's hull, burning away hull plating and sending streams of molten metal and heated gas into the darkness.

"Helm, reorient," Shran ordered instantly. "Weapons, full barrage on that bird."

It was a dangerous order and Shran knew it. With hull breaches already across the ship and no torpedoes remaining, the Tamar was not in a shape to continue the fight. A Starfleet officer would have backed down and gone defensive, but that was not the Imperial Guard's style. With a glance, he saw General Cota nodding with approval.

Even as the Tamar maneuvered toward the bird of prey, the Romulans were regrouping, now focusing on the less maneuverable Hyperionto the exclusion of everything else. Like furious hornets, the drones began peppering the slow-moving Earther cruiser with their particle cannons as the bird of prey went evasive. A trio of torpedoes leapt from the manned Romulan warship and spiraled up and around to home in on the Hyperion. Shran drew in a sharp breath as the explosive ordnance ripped into the ship's armor.

One of the unmanned drones—the one previously damaged by the collision with the bird of prey—dove at the Hyperion, slamming into the exposed bridge section with a fierce explosion. Fires could be seen in the moments before the hard vacuum quenched them, and Hyperion shuddered. For a brief moment, Shran was saddened at the death of Captain Ellis Pierce. To their credit, the surviving Earther gunners continued to fire their weapons, and another brutal salvo of fire savaged the already damaged bird of prey.

In that moment, Tamar pounced.

Of the five particle cannons on the Andorian warship, only three were currently functional as Tamarbarreled forward. Burning streams of energy slashed across the darkness, searing into the Romulan warship's weakened hull plating. One of the beams cut deeply into the engineering section, puncturing what could only have been a fuel tank. An explosion of bluish fire ripped the entire compartment open, spilling fragile bodies into the void. Less than a heartbeat later, the entire ship violently self-destructed with a fierce flash of light. Burning debris tumbled through the void of space.

General Cota nodded as he continued to study the sensor data crawling across his panel. Then his and Shran's antennae rose in surprise. The Hyperionwas beginning to maneuver in the direction of the beleaguered Columbia, plasma cannons still barking fire at the drones that harassed the cruiser. The cruiser's bridge section was gone, destroyed in the explosive collision, yet somehow, the primitive-looking ship was still in the fight. Shran shook his head in stunned amazement.

"Incoming!" shouted Lieutenant Kreb mere seconds before twin beams of crimson energy narrowly missed the Tamar and speared a drone-ship, crumpling it explosively. In the horizontal half-moon-shaped main viewer, Shran could see that the powerful beams came from a Nova-class dreadnought in the distance. The inscribed name proclaimed it the Normandy.

Pulses of burning Human and Andorian energy flashed through the darkness, slamming into their targets with blistering fury. Explosions ripped the night asunder as torpedoes slammed home with fierce detonations. Hull plating was ripped free and Shran watched in anger as two Andorian warships died fiery deaths. Retaliation came satisfyingly quick as two Romulan ships died explosively. Another Hyperion-class ship, the Tigerclaw, shuddered under an incredible onslaught, and, for a second, appeared poised to weather the brutal assault. Secondary and tertiary explosions suddenly began to erupt from within the Earther ship and, like a poorly constructed model, the Tigerclaw fell apart.

Teln sent the Tamar into a stomach-lurching dive, and Shran was elated at the scene of carnage. The Romulans were having a hard time of it. General Cota was already aware of it, thanks to the fleet command data feed on his console. The general continued to bark orders into the console. He would be too busy for the Tamar's captain to consult.

"Let's make them pay for what they did to Andoria," Shran said with a cold smile. "On my mark, hard to starboard. Weapons, fire at will."

**ChR Bloodwing**

Valdore prepared to be one with the Elements. His warbird in its current damaged state could not possibly survive the full firepower of a Nova dreadnought.

A thick blue bar of light so intense it appeared white lanced through the night and right into the Nova dreadnought. The lance continued to burn until it came out of the other side of the dark grey blocky warship. Secondary and tertiary explosions blossomed from within the dreadnought, causing it to break apart outwardly before exploding in a violent burst.

Valdore's eyes jumped from the viewing scope to the holo-tank. Admiral Lasus's ship, the Rea's Helm, had fired its main plasma cannon. Valdore had pegged Lasus as a spoiled offspring of an Imperial Hero. Perhaps Senator Mezen's son was not so spoiled after all.

"The fool!" cursed Valdore.

He gave orders not to use the main plasma gun in battle except as a last resort. The technology was intended for ships far more advanced and powerful than the Romulan Empire was currently capable of building. Using it consumed virtually all of a ship's power. Once fired, a warbird could not navigate or fire other weapons for up to a minute, depending on the power channeled from the fusion reactor, though there would be barely enough left to maintain artificial gravity and life support.

From the looks of things, Lasus fired the main weapon at full power. Rea's Helm would be vulnerable for a minute. A lot could happen in a minute.

Foolish. Nevertheless, Lasus saved Valdore's life and ship. The admiral now had an obligation to Lasus. _Mnhei'sahe._

"All ships, rally to the Rea's Helm!"

As ships from the three Romulan fleets assigned to the assault on Andoria broke their engagements and converged on Rea's Helm, anger pulsed through Valdore's veins. The hatred he had reserved for Captain Archer and the Enterprise who had caused the admiral to be drummed out of the military before the war began seemed paltry compared to the emotion now thundering through Valdore. He gritted his teeth together to prevent himself from giving in to the furious wrath. Now was not the time. The Star Empire depended on him not to lose control.

In the holo-tank, Valdore could see the odds. He spent a moment studying the tactical display and any hope of salvaging a victory out of the mess rapidly dwindled as he took in the sheer scope of the forces arrayed against him. He glared at the tiny colored holographic models of Andorian, Earther and Terran ships. Lasus' warbird began to restore its power despite the damaging enemy fire hammering into it.

"Send to all ships," he said abruptly. The sharpness of his voice caused golden-helmeted officers to look up in surprise. Valdore struggled to keep his expression as confident as possible. "Retreat."

When the officers arrayed around the central control column hesitated, Valdore gave them a sharp angry look. "Retreat," he ordered again. "Now!" he snapped, causing two sub-lieutenants to jump.

**UES Columbia**

The Terran starship shuddered hard as the shockwave of a nuclear detonation buffeted her.

Smoke hugged the bridge's ceiling as the recycler fans labored to clean the air. Sparks blew from a damaged console, causing the science officer Lt. Khalil Al-Rashid to flinch. The hull breach alarm was giving Erika Hernandez a headache. "Cut that out!"

Instantly, the alarm fell silent.

"Thanks, Veronica."

The blonde New Zealander commander nodded from her post at the damage control station. "Damage control teams are on B deck."

"_Engineering to Bridge."_

Erika looked up at the voice of the Hungarian-born chief engineer Lt. Laszlo Kelby. "Go ahead."

"_The warp core's offline, Captain. The impulse engines are at one-third capacity."_

Erika received the news grimly. That meant Columbia was stuck in the area. If her starship was too damaged to fight, all it could do would be to limp away. It looked as if they would fight to the end. This was not the end Erika had been looking forward to.

"Captain," said Lieutenant Kiona Thayer, "The Romulans are disengaging."

It was true. Erika could see it happening on the main viewer. The six surviving green-hued ships—a warbird, two birds of prey and three drone-ships—quickly began accelerating away from the combat zone in an attempt to get clear of Andoria's gravity well. The drones fell behind to absorb heavy damage as they provided covering fire for the escaping manned ships. The Romulans had suffered heavy losses.

"Incoming transmission from Tamar," Ensign Sidra Valerian announced, her relief sharpening her Scottish accent. Erika gave her a nod.

"_All ships, shoot down as many of the birds as you can."_ General Cota's voice was distorted as it came through the comm. system, but it was still recognizable. _ "We can't let them come back later."_

The Andorians fell upon the retreating Romulans with a vengeance. However, there were already warp flashes as the Romulans fled. The surviving Nova dreadnoughts trained their stunningly overpowered laser cannons on the remaining functional green-hued vessels. The few remaining starfuries swarmed damaged birds of prey, disabling them expertly.

"Bring us closer to those birds," Erika said, pointing at a trio of disabled ships. "Veronica, tell Major Foyle and his MACOs to lock and load. We're going to board a ship and finally get us prisoners." The edge in her voice promised terrible retribution if the Romulans tried anything funny.

Then the Romulan ships that were not able to make the transition to warp self-destructed. Blooms of nuclear fission and fusion detonations appeared throughout the Andor planetary system.

"What the hell—?!" The helmsman, Lt. Reiko Akagi, stared in disbelief. "The birdies are psychopaths!"

Sidra said, "The Earth Alliance ships Ypres, Valley Forge, Rodger Young and Satsuma are reporting damages from the detonations. Normandy, Tirpitz, Nero and the Andorian ship Lokune are moving to assist." A chirp sounded from the communications console. She frowned in concentration and pressed her earpiece deeper into her ear. "I'm receiving a message from one of the Aenar cities on Andoria." The Scottish woman looked up in surprise. "It's Major O'Neill. She says they have a prisoner for us. It's Major Talok."

Now this was news to Erika. "Why did they make a Vulcan prisoner?"

Sidra listened to more reports from her earpiece. "Captain…they're saying Talok is an agent working for the Romulans."

Erika gaped at Sidra. Shock then gave way to anger. "Tell them we will take custody of the prisoner. Helm, take us to Andoria on the double."

"Aye, aye, sir!"

The captain's voice hardened. "Inform Starfleet Command we have a traitor."

"Yes, sir."

**ChR Rea's Helm**

Sub-Commander Chulak reached the door to the ship's battle-control deck. He panted from the run he made from the power plant. The engineers had managed to restore warp capability soon after they received Admiral Valdore's order to retreat. Around him, fires raged and the howl of hull breach alarms echoed loudly throughout the ship. Sparks rained down on him from sporadically exploding power junctions, stinging his exposed flesh. Chulak gritted his teeth against the pain as he attempted to open the double-layered door.

It would not open. The vacuum seal had re-engaged right after Chulak left the command center to personally attend the survival of Rea's Helm. It was standard procedure for Romulan ship commanders to seal the battle-control deck off from the rest of the ship once combat commenced. It was a preventive measure designed for the commander's safety, both from ship damages and from any potential assassins hoping to take advantage of the chaos of battle. Once the vacuum seal engaged, the battle-control deck's independent life support would come online.

Another explosion vibrated through the deck plates. Chulak redoubled his effort to strain against the vacuum seal. "I need help!" he shouted.

A pair of Romulan crewmen heard him and came into the corridor. A loud crack sounded and the electro-plasma conduits running along the corridors suddenly ruptured, spraying the two men.

Neither had a chance to scream.

Chulak stared at the two bodies in stunned horror as they were rapidly consumed. At temperatures in excess of three million degrees, the ionized electro-plasma was more lethal to living tissue than any acid that the sub-commander could name. The acrid stench of seared flesh washed over him, and he suppressed the urge to gag.

Fumbling with the latch on the wall-mounted suppression system, Chulak began coughing as the atmosphere scrubbers started to fail. A familiar alert sounded as his fingers danced across the keypad and he forced himself to keep working to engage the automated failsafe. Behind him, the heat of the electro-plasma leak washed over his body. Sweat began dripping into his face, and he winced at the rapidly escalating temperatures.

The hiss of the plasma leak suddenly became louder. Chulak glanced back in time to witness the explosion.

With a flash of blood green fire, the electro-plasma ignited and ripped apart metal. Screaming loudly, Chulak slammed a control key with his fist. Mercifully, the vacuum seal disengaged and the door opened a crack. Desperation fueling his muscles, Chulak strained against the double-layered door in the searing heat. The sound of tearing metal filled his ears as he pushed and pulled. Microseconds later, the roar of the ignited plasma preceded the angry firestorm as it thundered through the corridor.

Chulak launched himself through the widened crack in the door with as much force as he could manage.

Forcing his body through the doors, waves of heat lapped over him, scorching his flesh and sending spasms of agony throughout his body. He was surprised to realize that he was screaming as the fire raged behind him, consuming the oxygen of the ship like some wild beast intent on destruction. A part of him knew that screaming was dangerous, but the fear…the _terror _was too overwhelming to ignore.

The distant whine of a hull breach alarm penetrated the fog of panic, and Chulak suddenly realized that the fire was gone and he was through the door in the battle-control deck. He opened his eyes, wincing at the sharp pain that lanced through his body with each movement. At a glance, he could see that his exposed flesh had been badly burned. Large blisters were apparent, and his skin was much darker than normal.

Climbing to his feet, Chulak pushed the pain away. He did not have time to focus on his own pain, not when Admiral Lasus could need his assistance. Glancing around, he swallowed in amazement that he escaped and survived the firestorm at all. He took in the ruins of the battle-control deck. Debris littered the command center and smoke was thick in the air as dozens of small fires raged, voraciously consuming flammable components. Admiral Lasus was sprawled on the deck, his uniform stained with blood. To Chulak's relief, the admiral was still breathing.

Rea's Helm shuddered once more, and Chulak recognized the distinct feel of a change in the atmosphere of the ship. Pressure doors had lowered, hopefully an indication that other survivors existed and were even now conducting rescue operations while the ship fled the Andorian System at warp.

Bleeding from a wound hidden in his hair, Centurion Terix stood up from the deck and glanced at Chulak. Dismissing the burned sub-commander, his face was devoid of expression as he drew his disruptor pistol in a smooth motion.

"Khre'riov, Mezen sends his regards," the centurion growled as he aimed his weapon at the unmoving admiral. Terix squeezed the trigger before Chulak could act.

The disruptor did not fire.

Centurion Terix snarled a curse at the fire-damaged pistol. Chulak lunged at him. The sub-commander's hand, balled tightly into a fist, slammed into the centurion's throat with crushing force and Chulak could feel the man's trachea collapse. With a strangled gasp, Terix staggered backwards, dropping his gun as his hand instinctively went to his throat.

Chulak moved to grab the falling disruptor and dropped down beside Terix. His hands quickly ripped the centurion's Honor Blade free of its scabbard. A strangled gasp drew Chulak's attention to Terix's panicking face and he offered a cold smile at the sight of the man slowly asphyxiating.

Without hesitation, Chulak plunged the Honor Blade into Terix's side, piercing the heart beneath the lower right ribs.

Frowning, Chulak gave the traitor a momentary look, assuring himself that the centurion was dead. Senator Mezen was Lasus' father. What was the motivation for the attempt to murder the admiral?

It may have been _mnhei'sahe_. The Ruling Passion was not quite honor, not quite loyalty, and not quite anger or hatred or about fifty other things. It could be a form of hatred that required a person to give his last drop of water to a thirsty enemy or an act of love that required a person to kill a friend. Terix may have thought to do Lasus honor by killing him, but his simple statement implied something else.

Chulak mentally put the matter away. It was an affair of the Noble-Born, though he had aligned himself with Mezen's house. Kneeling down beside the prostrate Lasus, he found that the admiral was not wounded. An impact must have knocked him unconscious.

The sub-commander stood to check that the Rea's Helm was on course and set the computer to inform him when the warbird entered Romulan-occupied Pvarto System. Another panel informed him that damage control crews were at work throughout the ship. Reassured, he sat beside Lasus and waited.

Around him, the fires continued unabated.

**UES Columbia**

_Captain's Star Log, August 4, 2157_

_No trace of Romulan survivors has been detected and it is doubtful that there would be any to be found. It has now been established that the Romulans choose suicide over capture. The Coalition Supreme Command has issued a general order forbidding any attempt to board any Romulan vessel. Any attempt at surrender is to be perceived as deception and the ship shot down or left alone if a Coalition ship is unable to do so._

_We are assisting in the efforts to salvage wreckages, make repairs, search for survivors, both Andorian and Human, and provide medical attention in the Andorian System. The Earth Alliance Explorer Cortez has returned to the system and its crew is doing their best to rebuild the jumpgate that the Romulans destroyed. As the last Romulan left the system or committed suicide, the first of the Imperial Guard reinforcements from the Draken and Beta Hydri Systems arrived. They are participating in the efforts now as well as shoring up the system's defenses. I would like to note that the EarthForce marines deployed with Major Donna O'Neill to escort the corporate representatives have been instrumental in preventing the establishment of a Romulan foothold on Andoria during the battle. It is likely that had it not been for them, the Aenar would have been enslaved and the war would have turned for the worse for all of us._

_Come to think of it, if it wasn't for our alliance with EarthForce, more nukes would have fallen on Andoria while the Romulans enslave the Aenar. The Andorian destroyers from Andor IV would have prolonged the battle long enough for Imperial Guard reinforcements to come from the Draken and Beta Hydri Systems. More lives would have been lost._

_Even though the Rift gave us a new enemy in the Minbari, it may have saved lives._

_My engineers are working with the Andorians in clearing out the nuclear fallout on Andoria. So far, we have found no surviving members of the Andorian Parliament. The Andorian Imperial Guard has established a temporary capital in the city of Laikan—at least until Laibok could be rebuilt. Until it could be determined that the Romulans would not attack the system again, the Imperial Guard would act as the military government of the Andorian Empire. In a way, that made it easier for the Guard to begin sharing its force field defense shield technology with Starfleet and EarthForce. They have been impressed with our performance in the battle._

_The Imperial Guard General Telev has informed me that the Vulcan Council has offered assistance in the reconstruction efforts on Andoria. There has been no word whether the Guard would accept the offer yet. I am hopeful that this would deepen the alliance among us._

_Columbia has picked up the prisoner Talok who seems to be an agent working for the Romulan Empire. The PsiCorps commercial telepath David Xanatos has informed us that his real name was Vaebn. The prisoner has not been forthcoming with information and I have reluctantly turned down Mr. Xanatos' offer to telepathically scan Vaebn's mind. I also had to persuade the Imperial Guard not to put the prisoner to the question themselves. I felt it to be prudent to preserve the information in Vaebn's mind as much as possible. A Vulcan cruiser is scheduled to arrive tomorrow with interrogation experts for the prisoner._

_On another matter, I am concerned about the samples of Reman weapons obtained in the Aenar city of Argali. Of particular note is the rifle's technology. It bears a remarkable resemblance to the Xindi biorifle, if not identical. The implications of collusion between the Romulans and the Xindi are disturbing to say the least._

_In any case, when the Vulcan interrogators arrive, we shall have the answers._

=/\=

In the holding area, a single MACO arrived, weaponless. The male MACO stared at the sleeping form of Vaebn.

When the MACO pressed a control servo and the cell door opened, Vaebn woke up. The agent gazed up blankly at the intruder. He stood, and for a moment, the two men gazed at each other.

Suddenly, with seemingly no provocation, Vaebn was terrified. He stumbled back and pressed himself up against the wall, clearly beside himself with fear.

The MACO's face began to change then. It grew slimmer and his eyes became large and yellow. His body also began to warp and morph into something else. Reddish-orange tentacles reached up from behind the MACO's back.

Vaebn whimpered, his terror preventing him from screaming.

=/\=

Erika Hernandez opened the door to the brig and entered with several MACO's. Looking into the cell, she saw a lumpy form hidden under a blanket on the cot.

Erika said cautiously, "Open it."

One of the MACO's opened the cell door. With a whoosh, the door slid open and the smell of ozone washed over them.

Erika slowly stepped into the cell and pulled away the blanket, revealing Vaebn with a frozen expression of excruciating agony and terror, and the contorted body to go with it. He was dead.

"Dammit."


	29. A War Council

The contorted corpse of Vaebn, formerly Major Talok, went into the diagnostic chamber. The man had been discovered to be an agent for the Romulan Empire and was captured by the EarthForce marines who fought on Andoria. Doctor Jeremy Lucas would have liked to discuss his findings with his friend, Dr. Phlox, but the Enterprise was en route to Ardana at the moment, with a detour through Coridan space. He looked up when the doors into the Columbia's sickbay slid open. Captain Erika Hernandez and General James Smits entered still discussing the recent battle over Andoria.

"…we trusted you to keep the prisoner alive for interrogation, Captain."

Erika sighed as if it was something that Smits had already said before. Jeremy thought that might actually be the case.

"General, we could not have predicted that there was an agent among us, ready to kill Vaebn." She gestured towards Jeremy. "I believe that Dr. Lucas can explain what happened."

Jeremy took up a computer tablet from a table though he did not need to review the notes. "Captain. General. Vaebn appeared to suffer from a direct pulse of electromagnetic waves to the lower cortex of his brain, effectively ceasing any neural output, killing him." The corpulent doctor paused to let that sink in before continuing. "Several marks were found on his body. They can be compared to, oh say, jellyfish stings. Based on the little genetic evidence left at the scene, I can surmise that it was through a similar tentacle-like extremity. But curiously, the DNA I recovered appears to have the ability to blend in with its surroundings. Quite extraordinary."

That brought something up in Erika's mind. "Like Suliban DNA?"

"Not quite." Jeremy pressed a button, bringing a genetic schematic up on a screen. The schematic was split in two for comparison between a Suliban DNA and another DNA. "The Cabal Sulibans consciously had their body blend with the surroundings or become another humanoid body but their DNA remains constant. This particular DNA effortlessly blends in as if it has inherent chameleon abilities. When I added a sample of Human DNA to a sample of this, the DNA immediately imitated it, becoming Human. Whatever species this DNA belongs to, they've perfected the techniques of cellular metamorphosis, and may be capable of rearranging their own cellular structures to imitate any person or object of similar size and mass. Like I said, it's quite extraordinary."

General Smits' eyes were on the screen showing a scan of Vaebn's body. "And that…creature killed the Vulcan?"

"Yes. It is as if a creature that combined the qualities of an eel, an Irukandji box jellyfish and a chironex fleckeri jellyfish attacked Vaebn." Jeremy frowned. "Also, there's something odd about Vaebn's genes, but it must be because of whatever the creature did to him." Jeremy pursed his lips and added, "I wonder what the creature was. Though I'd like to examine it, I shudder to think there's one hiding among us."

"And working for the Romulans," added Smits with a scowl.

**Gamma Virginis System**

**Romulan-occupied Pvarto**

Seen from Earth, the binary star system of Gamma Virginis looked like a pill glowing in the blackness of space. Admiral Valdore and the Romulans who came from their battle at Andoria would not find their stellar medicine here.

Least of all, Admiral Lasus.

Lasus became aware of the light, first, filling his opening eyes. Light. That meant something to Lasus. Thinking was new to him. _I can think. _I_ means me._ Pain came next, the memory of raging fire.

With aching muscles, he heaved himself over, pushed up to a sitting position in a bed. Through a window, Lasus could see squat buildings rising from a cold snow-covered land. His room was in a high story of a tall building.

Where was he?

After a while, he said, "My name is Lasus, son of Mezen." More memory crashed back into his head like a lead ball, and he groaned. "Andoria," he whispered to himself. He looked at the land and city blanketed by snow beyond the window. "Is this Andoria?"

"No."

Lasus turned at the voice. Admiral Valdore came through an open door. "This is Pvarto."

"Pvarto?" For a moment, Lasus was puzzled. "But the fleets, we were attacking Andoria. We…." The rest of memory flooded back then, leaving his mouth hanging open. In his mind, he saw the boxy EarthForce ships blasting into Romulan ships with their powerful cannons. He licked suddenly dry lips. A gust of wind swirled glittering snow crystals past the window, but it was no colder than his heart. Valdore was watching him.

"We lost."

Valdore dipped his head, confirming Lasus' fear. "Ships from our three fleets are still coming to Pvarto. _Ael'Riov_ Galathon is confirmed dead."

After a silent minute, Lasus looked around at the room he was in. "My Honor Blade. Where is it?"

Valdore raised his slanted eyebrows. "Why do you want it?"

Bleakly, Lasus said, "Final Honor."

The bigger and muscular admiral smiled softly. "_Erei'riov_ Chulak would be aggrieved to find that his effort to save you has been a waste."

Lasus was puzzled again. He didn't know what Sub-Commander Chulak had to do with his survival. Valdore supplied the answer.

"Chulak saved you from an assassin." Valdore looked down at his folded hands. "_Enarrain_ Terix now suffers in Areinnye for his troubles."

So Centurion Terix was dead and in Hell. Lasus chuckled mirthlessly as he said, "It would have been better if Terix succeeded."

Valdore frowned. "Why do you seek death?"

"_Daise'Khre'Enriov_, I seek Final Honor because I have failed my Duty. I have failed the Empire. Many of my soldiers are dead because of me. The Empress is deprived of many ships because of me. My dishonor stains my family." Lasus shuddered. "I think the dishonor is enough for me to become one of the _K'manatri_."

Valdore's frown deepened. The K'manatri, the Unseen Ones, were Romulan outcasts who have been stripped of rank, title and family. Making up the lowest social caste, they were not acknowledged by any citizen of the Empire. They were lower even than the Reman slaves.

"Only Final Honor would erase the dishonor," added Lasus.

Valdore said sharply, "Suicide is cowardly. A coward's mother does not weep." He lightly fingered the hilt of his own Honor Blade sheathed at the hip. "The Star Empire needs all the skilled commanders it could get. The Empress needs them! _Khre'riov_ Lasus, remember the Virtues of the Way. Remember your courtesy to the Way."

Lasus looked up into Valdore's eyes. He certainly remembered the Virtues, which were the four basic concepts of D'Era taught to every Romulan from womb to tomb. **Devotion** required loyalty to one's family which strengthened as well as unified the Romulan Star Empire. This required loyalty to the state and willingness to serve as well as obey the law, faithfully. In many ways, it taught Romulan citizens to be patriotic to the Empire. **Allegiance** was a component of Imperial justice that required the payment of debts, keeping sworn oaths and the performance of all duties that are contracted. As such, it served as the foundation of Romulan life, both private and public. Breaking an act of allegiance was not only a violation of another's rights but a crime against Romulan society itself. **Discipline** added to the aspect of Allegiance and represented self control as well as self possession along with a dignified view of life. Individuals were expected to form their own destinies and do not put stock in luck. **Fidelity** was a second further addition to Allegiance which asked for focused determination and perseverance in any circumstances which guided a Romulan's everyday life. It required that the Romulan people were to do whatever is necessary to succeed.

If Lasus understood Valdore's reasoning, departing this life via Final Honor would be a violation of the Virtues. He whispered, "_Mnhei'sahe_."

Admiral Valdore grunted in satisfaction at Lasus' acceptance. "Now we must do our duty and go to ch'Rihan. We need to apologize to the Empress for the defeat at Andoria."

Lasus' eyes widened at that. Apologize to the Empress! Even a Noble-Born considered having to apologize to the Empress an ultimate humiliation, the more so if one was denied death afterwards and had to continue to live with the public embarrassment. It was opposite to being allowed to look at the Empress which was a gift or a boon. It was now too late for him to achieve Final Honor. He sighed. _Mnhei'sahe_.

"Especially," added Valdore, "since the Empress expected to appoint a Prince of the Blood governor of Andoria."

Lasus wondered how much further he could get with Valdore. To test it, he said, "Is it true that the Empress thinks she's the consort of a god?"

Valdore shifted on his feet. The bedridden admiral could see that he was uncomfortable or uneasy. Romulans worshipped the Elements. Though gods existed in their belief systems, they did not expect them to answer any prayer. For Empress T'Lel IV to think she was a god's consort…. "That's a rumor," answered Valdore finally. "Just a rumor."

"After the…." Lasus shuddered. "…apology, what do we do?"

"Keep fighting the war, of course. It depends on the Empress' orders."

"The defeat at Andoria is bad, _Daise'Khre'Enriov_. Is it time to bring the Xindi fully into the war as an ally?"

"No," Valdore answered instantly. "They are busy with their three-way civil war and with raiders from the Cardassian Republic. I wouldn't be surprised if the raids are a prelude to a Cardassian invasion of Xindi space. No. It is enough that we are funding one of the Xindi factions and we are getting war materiel like biorifles in return."

"What about these…Cardassians?"

Valdore sniffed in dismissal. "The Vulcans say they're a third-rate power running out of resources while their government is turning totalitarian. If anything, the Xindi will whittle themselves down and then any Xindi-Cardassian war will be a long one of attrition. No. We have other allies. We have agents among our enemies." He frowned as a thought occurred to him. "The enemy captured one of our highly placed agents. Fortunately, a Soul Eater got him."

Lasus shivered. It was not because of Pvarto's cold. "I do not like that code name. _T'kal ni narak alat N'garkar ack._"

Midday sun, Soul Eater comes.

Valdore said, "But it is apt for the species, no? Anyway, _Enarrain_ Telvor will be at the Twin Homeworlds soon. We will harvest the ship that he reported to have captured in the other universe. I will review what he has captured during our return to ch'Rihan."

Nodding, Lasus laid back down on the bed. "Any report on the Humans' war in the other universe?"

"We will find out soon enough. Rest, Lasus. Tomorrow, we go home." Valdore patted Lasus' hand on the bed. "We will recover from Andoria. But…." He then said under his breath, "From now on, the end of the war is uncertain."

**Earth starliner Orion Queen**

**In Centauri space**

A door slid open, revealing a woman bearing a tray. She was dressed in a short dress uniform and her hair was covered in a wimple. There were tearing sounds as she negotiated her shoes' contacts with the Velcro-covered deck. Her walk on the Velcro was halting in the null-gravity environment. Stopping at a wall, she pressed a button which opened a small slot. She slid the tray into the slot and retrieved another tray. The slot closed. The attendant turned and Velcro-stepped to a curving wall.

She stepped up the curving wall and haltingly walked up it until anyone watching would think that she was upside-down. She pressed a button and spoke softly into an intercom panel. A door set into the 'ceiling' slid open, permitting her entrance into the liner's cockpit.

The two pilots and single navigator smiled up at the female attendant who proceeded handing out food packs.

"How's our passengers down below?"

The attendant shrugged. "As well as Centauri could be. Those Royal Guardsmen make me nervous."

"Don't worry. We'll be there soon."

"Where're they going, anyway?"

The captain exchanged a glance with the navigator. "Sorry, that's classified."

The attendant frowned but accepted it. She Velcro-stepped out of the cockpit. The door slid shut on the tearing sounds of her walk.

A beeping sound attracted the navigator's attention. "Captain, we're coming up at the Immolan jumpgate."

The captain-pilot nodded his acknowledgement. He flipped a switch on his console and held his headphone microphone close to his mouth. A ding sounded throughout the passenger liner.

"_This is the captain speaking. We are approaching the jumpgate to Immolan V. Once through, we will make our way to Trollo Station where we will disembark for custom checks. Be sure to get a shuttle to Immolan 5. I hear that the Great Temple of Gon deserves its reputation as a tourist attraction. We hope you enjoy the visit! PanTerra thanks you for traveling the friendly lanes! Brace for jump."_

Under the clunky-looking pilot section of the globular Earth starliner, a small purple-colored personal craft was attached to the hull like a remora. Inside the craft's cockpit, a Royal Guardsman tensed as a vortex bloomed open in hyperspace.

The Orion Queen came through the jumpgate without a hitch. In the distance, the blue-green jewel of a terrestrial planet hung in space. The small Centauri craft released its clamps from the underside of the liner cockpit section and drifted away before the revolving globe of the liner's main body came in contact. The Human pilot helped by moving the liner upward. That all the acknowledgement that the Humans ever gave in parting.

Once the Guardsman was sure that the craft was beyond the liner's scanner range, he activated the engines and laid in a tangential course away from Immolan V.

A groan came from behind the Guardsman who looked over his shoulder at the sound's source. Another Guardsman, seated beside a seat-bed, glanced down at the bed's occupant. "He's waking up."

Londo Mollari's eyes blinked open.

"Wh-where am I? Am I on a ship?"

The Guardsman said, "Yes."

Londo looked sharply at the soldier. It was customary for such socially inferior men to address Londo as 'my lord' or 'sir.' That the soldier didn't address him this way represented Londo's fall from grace in Centauri society. Londo frowned warily. "I had a heart attack."

"Yes. The Vulcan doctors were quite expert in healing you."

"Do enlighten me, my good soldier: Sick people stay in the hospital, sick bay, wherever there are doctors and nurses, yes? I don't see medical equipment or personnel around so this is not a medical ship, yes? Why am I here?"

"We have orders. The Vulcans had to discharge you."

"Orders?" A chill went through Londo. He remembered how he was caught talking with the Minbari, Sonovar, about the Coalition fleet's movement. He sat up on the bed, took a deep breath and brought his emotions under control. Idly, he marveled at how well he was feeling. Those Vulcan doctors must have been good. "Where am I going?"

In response, the guardsman pointed at a small porthole. Through the window, Londo could see a large warship escorted by three Vorchan-class medium cruisers in front and above and three more Vorchans behind and below the warship. The warship itself was like a Primus but more armed and elegant-looking. Any Centauri would recognize that ship.

The Valerius!

Which meant the Emperor himself was there. Londo gulped.

It turned out that Emperor Turhan had come to the Immolan System in absolute secrecy. The Royal Court always knew exactly where the Emperor was at any given minute of any day, and with whom. Every day except this day.

Inside the Valerius, a high-backed gold and purple-velveted throne was set up on a dais. In front of the dais, six stools had been set in a row. Londo knew that this was unusual. At court, only the Emperor sat. He had heard of certain secret councils where important figures did sit in the Emperor's presence. Needless to say, Londo was excited at the thought of seeing the Emperor in his secret and truest role. At the same time, he was apprehensive. No condemned person is ever brought into a secret council unless that council is to put him on trial.

Londo feared for himself and for House Mollari. If he had the time and resources at this moment, he would contact his friends and allies in the Centaurum and the Royal Court like Urza Jaddo.

Minister Talo Malachi came into the chamber with Lord Kiro.

Maybe there was a hope for Mollari. Malachi was a trusted and dear friend, as well as the Emperor's confidante. But Lord Kiro's presence didn't reassure Londo. House Kiro was a very ancient and noble house which was once a long-lived imperial dynasty. Though House Kiro had often been an ally of House Mollari, the Kiros were unofficially the hereditary messengers of the Imperial Throne.

When Malachi looked at Londo, he was stone-faced. Kiro, for his part, scowled at Londo.

"You know what I think," said Malachi, continuing a conversation he had been having with Kiro.

"I know, Minister. But we must listen. Things are changing in the galaxy."

"When do they not?" Malachi was sour.

Before Londo could gain the courage to strike up a conversation with the other men, a chamberlain appeared. He had brought a small stool-like table which he set beside the throne and put a small device on the tiny round table. Londo recognized the device as a Vulcan universal translator. The chamberlain then bowed low to Malachi and Kiro and said, "Will your lordships receive the Emperor's guests?"

Malachi nodded, and the least important guest entered first. Londo was surprised to see that it was Kalika Qwal'mizra, ambassador for the Abbai Matriarchate. Next came Stro'kath, the famous Drazi general who earned his reputation in the Dilgar War. Then Lord Tavari.

Londo wondered at the secret council that would have aliens from the League of Non-Aligned Worlds, and a Centauri lord from Tolonius VII. He surreptitiously studied the old Drazi Stro'kath. Even though he was old, he still appeared strong and fit. Aging Drazi did not change much in appearance. One of the undisputed leaders of the Drazi junta, proven in battle and practical in politics, he led the Drazi Freehold in the war against the Dilgar and had been successful in rebuilding the Drazi nation.

Why was Stro'kath of the Drazi here?

Then one more alien entered the room. She was a relatively short, silver-haired Vulcan woman with an impressive bosom. She moved slowly, gravely, hieratically. She had that sublime ease with others that one finds only in those who have been born to rule. Prince Beyon had this quality. His father, Turhan, had it.

But Londo knew her to be Ambassador V'Lar. He knew her from the Narn-Centauri negotiations at Quadrant 14 just before he attempted to betray the Coalition fleet to Sonovar. It would seem that Vulcans acquired the quality as a people. No wonder the Minbari believed that Vulcans were the secret masters of the Humans and their allies.

Minister Malachi crossed the room to the Vulcan ambassador and tried his best to mirror her upraised-hand greeting. Londo knew that V'Lar had made good relations in the Royal Court during her tenure as Vulcan ambassador to Centauri Prime.

Before they knew it, Turhan was in his throne, with young Prince Beyon standing to his right and Grand Fleet Admiral Dromo to his left, holding an ivory baton of admiralty. It would seem that on the Valerius, the comings and goings of the Emperor were silent. There had been no cymbals, flutes or bells to announce him. Behind them were the ever-present two female telepaths, semi-hidden under sheer imperial-white veils that covered them from shaven head to foot.

The women were two of four telepaths, raised together since birth. They were linked twenty-four hours a day, no matter how far apart they were. What one saw, the others saw. Traditionally, when the Emperor leaves, two went with him and two stayed behind.  
This guaranteed that he knew all that occurred back home, and kept the Royal Court up to speed on what he was doing.

Emperor Turhan had jet-black hair raised in a high fan-like crest, as befitting a person of his royal stature. He was resplendent in pure white and gold finery, and the gold crescent-shaped pendant bearing the Imperial Starburst hung on gold chains from the imperial neck. Whoever wore the Seal of the Great Centauri Republic was Emperor. Idly, Londo remembered the one time he wore the Seal. It was only for five minutes and he was a child growing up in the Imperial Palace. And Turhan was much more generous to children.

Turhan spoke. "I have already welcomed Ambassador V'Lar of Vulcan. As the rest of you are close to me, you need no welcome." Londo had heard that Turhan was impatient of ceremony when the work to be done was not the ceremony itself.

"Now I begin. This is a council of war. Sit."

Everyone sat except Beyon, Dromo, the two female telepaths and Londo. And the two Royal Guardsmen flanking Londo.

"V'Lar had just come from Narn." This was a surprise to the gathered people. They had not expected Narn to be a topic of discussion in the council. Moreover, Turhan had always made sure that war with the Narn Regime was averted. If appeasement or even cessation of territories were required to maintain the peace, so be it.

And now Narn was to be discussed in a council of war.

"Speak, V'Lar of Vulcan."

The Vulcan ambassador rose from her stool and spoke in Vulcan, trusting the universal translator set on the table beside the Emperor. "The Kha'ri is most upset about the passage of the Coalition fleet through Dra'Shii and Quadrant 14. The Narn governor of Dra'Shii did nothing to stop the combined fleet. Even if he had, the combined fleet had enough power to overcome Dra'Shii's defenses. That is, _if_ the fleet commanders had any wish to do so. That logic escaped the Kha'ri. As Dra'Shii is only one jump away from Narn itself, they were alarmed and they decided to punish the governor by replacing him. The Narn Warleader G'Sten and I persuaded the Kha'ri to not move against the fleet and to permit it passage through the Quadrant 14 System. I have also allowed the Kha'ri to believe that if they continue to violate the borders of the Centauri Republic, the fleet would be turned against the Narn Regime. Your Majesty, the Kha'ri has agreed to sign the peace treaty as proposed for them and you by the Vulcan Council."

The Centauri and the League aliens murmured in surprise at that. It meant that the Narn Regime would return Raghesh III and Quadrant 37 to the Centauri Republic and that a definite border, as well as a neutral zone, would be established between Narn and Centauri territories. And that trade between the two empires would resume through third parties which would eventually become direct commerce between the Centauri and the Narns.

That meant there'd be no war between the two antagonistic empires.

Turhan nodded, showing nothing on his face. Londo, however, thought he caught a glint of joy in the Emperor's eyes. Turhan motioned to Dromo. The Grand Fleet Admiral spoke.

"Ambassador," said Dromo, "What would happen if either party violates the treaty or the new border?"

"It will instantly mean war."

The Centauri now looked concerned. But V'Lar was not finished.

"The Vulcan High Command will be involved in that war and our ships will move against the violating party." V'Lar arched an eyebrow as she added, "If it is discovered that the violating party has been provoked into the violation, we will turn against the provocateurs."

The Centauri lords looked at each other nervously. If there was any thought of opportunistically causing the Narns to violate the treaty, it was banished. Though Vulcans were new to their scene, their combat cruisers already had a reputation of being able to match the Minbari in battle.

Turhan smiled for the first time. "I shall be interested," he said mildly, "to learn how this treaty will be upheld and what type of era it will create."

There was silence in the room. Until Turhan clapped his hands and a servant brought him a silver goblet containing chilled water. As he drank, he looked up at the ceiling. When he handed the goblet back to the servant, he began to speak.

"When the Dilgar came, they were a great threat to us all. They murdered entire worlds. Without the Earth Alliance, they might have succeeded in conquering the League of Non-Aligned Worlds and created an empire capable of challenging the Centauri Republic. The Earth Alliance had done the galaxy a great service in defeating the Dilgar. The League owes Earth a great debt."

At that, Kalika bowed her head and Stro'kath gave a short and curt nod with a scowl.

"I speak honestly when I say that I would have opposed the Dilgar had I been able. That has been a great shame of my reign." Turhan sighed slightly as he remembered the days of the Dilgar War. "And now the Earth Alliance is in dire straits. The Minbari now murder Human worlds. They have intimidated the League into abandoning the Earthers and dishonoring their mutual defense agreements. I failed to help the League and the Earthers in the Dilgar Invasion. This time, I shall not stand by and watch the slaughter of innocents." Turhan turned to Minister Malachi.

"Majesty." Malachi bowed his head. Turhan blinked. No more. When the Royal Court met, it was often what is _not_ said in words that was the true substance of the meeting. Londo had heard that Turhan had a wide range of gestures with which he communicated his will. Unfortunately, he had not been in the Royal Court long enough to learn the all-important code.

The Minister of the Interior began, "As the Emperor knows…" Londo knew that the phrase was used at court to prepare the Emperor for something that he either did not know or had forgotten or did not want to know. "…we have been de-mothballing our surplus fleets and bringing the ships up to specs. Anyone would think that we were preparing for a possible war with the Narns and I admit that the border skirmishes have provided an excellent excuse for activating the fleets without alarming our neighbors."

Kalika and Stro'kath exchanged a meaningful glance. Londo raised his opinion of the old Drazi. Drazi had a reputation for being hot-headed and Minister Malachi's revelation would have launched any Drazi into a hot paranoid temper. But not Stro'kath.

Though his old age might have something to do with it, Londo thought.

Stro'kath leaned forward carefully. Turhan looked at him. The Drazi, taking this to be permission for him to speak, stood from his stool. "What is the point of this, Majesty?"

Londo raised his eyebrows. Drazi usually spoke in macros, but what he heard was perfect Centaurn. Just like he heard perfect Centaurn from V'Lar even though he could see that she spoke in Vulcan. He gave the translator on its table a quick glance.

Malachi simply said two words: "The Minbari."

Stro'kath scowled and shook his head slowly, not understanding. Kalika, however, did understand. Londo, with a rising horror, understood as well.

The Abbai ambassador sputtered, "Your Majesty! This is madness!" She stood up. "The Abbai will have no part of this!"

"We have no desire for war in our reign," said Turhan. "It has been my goal to use commerce and diplomacy for the Centauri Republic. It still is my goal. It would be remiss of me and my Republic to stand by and do nothing while the Minbari commits genocide against the Humans. They are a danger that must be stopped." He looked at the two League aliens. "Has the League not received similar threats?"

There was one curt nod from Stro'kath. "When the Minbari attacked the Earth Alliance, the Drazi junta immediately prepared a large fleet to go and help our allies, the Humans. The Minbari sent a small fleet to Zhabar and warned my people not to assist the Earth Alliance. Nevertheless, we sent the fleet on its way. Unfortunately, it disappeared in hyperspace. With the loss of so many ships, we could no longer do more than provide EarthForce the plans for an advanced particle weapon." He scowled darkly. "We suspect the Minbari."

Kalika sat down and looked down at her hands folded on her lap. "Each of the League homeworlds has had a similar experience. The Minbari jumped beneath our defense grids, locked their weapons on our capital city and warned that any who stood with the Earthers would share their fate." The Abbai looked up. "We were surprised. We did not have the time to raise shields and activate our defense grid. We would have entered the war had the Minbari not threatened us with extermination. Still, we have opened our borders to receive Earther refugees."

Sympathy was written on V'Lar's face as she said, "'We blame no one so bitterly as those who made us act against the best dictates of our own hearts and minds.'"

Londo thought that had the sound of a quote.

"The Humans have mounted an operation to strike into Minbari-held territory," Turhan said. "If the Humans and their allies prove themselves by scoring a victory in Minbari territory, the Centauri Republic will declare war against the Minbari."

All in the room, except for Turhan, Dromo and V'Lar, gasped. Horrified, Londo could already see his beloved homeworld, Centauri Prime, burning. This was the Narn's dream coming true!

And he couldn't do anything about it. He whispered under his breath, "No! Great Maker, no!"

V'Lar was saying, "The Vulcan Council has agreed to send at least one ship to each fleet, whether Centauri or League, to assist in breaking the Minbari stealth. While Vulcan abhors war, we have deemed it logical to lend all the assistance we could to quickly end this war. I will be in contact with various League governments to create an alliance against the Minbari."

Kalika hesitated for a while and said, "The Abbai Diplomatic Corps will assist the Vulcans. But…why are the Vulcans doing this?"

"We have reached the conclusion that if the Minbari reach the Earth Alliance homeworld, they will discover the rift leading into our universe. Logically, they will seek to come through it and exterminate the worlds of the Coalition of Planets, especially the Terran homeworld, Andoria, Vulcan, Tellar and their colonies. We do not wish to allow this to occur."

"Very…logical," said Kalika wryly. "However, the League will need additional protection if we are to go ahead with this."

Turhan nodded as if he was expecting it. "As the time approaches, I shall be stationing warships in hyperspace near the League homeworlds that participate. With Vulcan escorts, of course. They will stand guard in event of any Minbari reprisal." The Emperor paused to let that sink in. "That is, only if the Humans score a victory in Minbari territory."

Stro'kath stood up. "I will convince the Freehold Junta to endorse the plan. There will be…objections but…" Here, the old Drazi grinned mischievously. "I will personally deal with them."

The Centauri Emperor bowed his head in gratitude. Londo wished he could stop all this. It was madness! But he was not sure of his status and place in this council. He was not permitted a stool to sit on or to participate. To reinforce the message of his fall from grace, the two Royal Guardsmen still flanked him.

"Lord Tavari," Turhan said, "your house controls the Hevaria Orbital Yards at Tolonius VII. You are to put the shipyards at the disposal of the Royal Navy. We will use the yards to update our warships and to build new ships. All completed ships are to be sent to Gorash VII to await the signal for attack."

Tavari bowed. "You will be obeyed in all things, Your Majesty."

"We will place the fleet under the command of our most loyal servant, Lord-General Jorah Marrago. The seconds in command will be Admiral Andune Jaddo and Admiral Vallko Jarissi." As Turhan stood up, all in the room except for the guards bowed low. "Such is the Emperor's will," said Turhan.

As was the custom, the Centauri lords repeated in unison, "Such is the Emperor's will."

=/\=

Trying to stifle his outrage, Londo entered his assigned quarters on the Valerius. His two guards took positions flanking the door which slid shut, leaving the Centauri ambassador alone. He took a few lurching steps to a chair and sat stumblingly in it.

"What have we done?"

At the end of the secret council, V'Lar and Kalika had departed right away. Londo thought that Vulcans were a dour and puritanical lot. In many ways, Vulcans were a lot like the Minbari, at least those of the race that Londo knew. Sonovar certainly wasn't too puritanical to receive payments from Londo for information on his so-called superior people. He had to wonder whether Vulcans would be better than Minbari. He had to admit, though, that Vulcans were not prone to emotional outbursts or to genocide.

But…what the Emperor wanted was madness! He remembered the warning he gave General Lefcourt: _"The Minbari are one of the oldest space-faring races. Even at the height of the Centauri Empire, when we were expanding in all directions, we never opposed the Minbari. If you do not bother them, they will not bother you."_

And in leaving that room in EarthDome, Londo had said, _"I only hope that in your stumbling around, you do not wake the dragon."_

The dragon was awake now. And what the Emperor was doing would attract that dragon to Centauri Prime.

The door slid open. Minister Malachi strode into Londo's quarters. As soon as the door was closed again, Londo let loose his emotions on one who was supposed to his friend.

"Talo Malachi! He's insane! Great Maker, Turhan's gone mad!"

Malachi looked at Londo archly. "It is not wise to say such things aloud, Londo. Especially when you have betrayed our allies to the Minbari."

That brought him up short.

Malachi continued: "The Coalition has problems handling their wars against the Minbari and the Romulans. Imperial Intelligence tells us that the Minbari economy is being strained by their war with Earth and the Coalition. Opening new fronts and bringing other worlds into the war will break the Minbari economy. This will force them to the negotiation table. So, in exchange for certain favors, Emperor Turhan has agreed lend military help and throw his weight behind bring more worlds into the war. Hence, his plan to declare war if the Coalition proves themselves in battle in Minbari territory."

"No! He wouldn't! He _couldn't_! The Centaurum wouldn't stand for it!"

Malachi calmly looked at the quarters' furnishing and stroked his goatee. "The resolution was passed quietly. Fourteen opposed it. Prime Minister Shorra, Ministers Durano, Cholini and Vitari have agreed to the plan."

Londo stared. That meant the Intelligence, Defense and War Ministries supported Turhan's insanity. "Great Maker, it's madness!"

Malachi became cold. "Emperor Turhan has never chosen anything. He was born into a role that had been prepared for him. He did everything he was asked to do, because it never occurred to him to choose otherwise. His Majesty has realized that life and time are precious, and decided to choose for himself. To choose something better, to make a difference, as the Humans say."

"It's those Vulcans, isn't it?" Londo raised a waving finger as he paced the room. "I've come to find that they are very skilled at persuasion. Since the Centaurum, the ministries and we know about this insanity you call a plan, someone is sure to talk too much to the wrong person and the Minbari may find out." He turned and pointed the finger at Malachi. "I'll be damned if they do find out and do to Centauri Prime what they did to New London and the other Earth colonies."

Malachi nodded in agreement. "That's why the Emperor had each member of the Court and the Centaurum submit to the Emperor's Own to ensure the confidentiality of this thing."

Londo gaped. What the Interior Minister was saying was that the Emperor used his own female telepaths to modify the memories or motivations of those involved to ensure secrecy. He had to admit that this was clever and devious. Centauri nobles were infamous for their theft and sale of secrets as part of their playing the Great Game. Where the Minbari were concerned, such secrets were extremely dangerous and unhealthy.

"You cannot build an empire based on slaughter and deceit! Turhan knows that! Or at least I thought he knew."

Malachi sniffed dismissively. "Mollari, you are to tell the Minbari that the Coalition fleet will attack them."

The ambassador blinked in confusion. "I am to…_what?!_"

The minister frowned. "Is there something wrong with your hearing, Mollari?"

"No! It's just for a moment I thought I had entered an alternate universe! Minister, I know I have betrayed the Coalition, but it's in the best interest of Centauri Prime. I swear by all the fifty gods of the Pantheon!"

"Mollari, you have chosen to throw your lot in with the Minbari. You did not know what you were doing. That is why we are taking away your freedom of choice." Malachi shrugged casually. "We could have…_politely_ requested that you fall on your sword. Or passed a resolution in the Centaurum declaring you and your House traitors to the Republics even though it's still one of the most respected of the noble houses. But for some strange reason, Turhan has a soft spot for you. He actually went out of his way to convince Starfleet to allow us to use you in this fashion. You are more valuable the way you are. He has hoped, as have I, that you would learn something from the Humans concerning your own choices. The hope is still there, but…" He held up a finger and a thumb, only an inch apart. "…it's this _small_!"

Londo looked at his friend uncertainly. He had been surprised to learn that the Emperor cared about him that much. "Very well. I will…_leak_ the information of the Coalition's attack to the Minbari."

Malachi nodded with satisfaction and grasped his hands together behind his back. "You are to tell them that they're planning to assault Sh'Lekk'Tha."

Once again, Londo stared at the minister. That was not what he heard about Operation Medea's target destination. Clearly, the Emperor wished him to be a double agent feeding false information to the Minbari. Once the Minbari find out that the information was false, they might decide to kill Londo. If that's the punishment the Royal Court was hoping for, so be it. He drew himself up straight. Londo Mollari was Lord and High Seat of House Mollari, Hero of Frallis 12, and known as 'Paso Leati' in the Couro Prido dueling society.

Londo Mollari nodded his acceptance.

Malachi raised his eyebrows calculatingly and said, "One of the Emperor's telepaths will come to make it so that you absolutely believe that Sh'Lekk'Tha is the target." With that, he made his exit. Londo slumped into his chair. An old Centauri saying came to mind: "On the heights, the paths are paved with daggers."

Londo Mollari needed all the luck he could get to tread that path. Looking down, he began to pray to the goddess of luck and patroness of gamblers, Ilaros.


	30. Seeds of Extinction

**EarthDome**

**Geneva, Switzerland**

**Earth Alliance**

The sun shone through the vast dome covering the part of Geneva that served EarthDome, the supporting struts and beams casting shadows upon the buildings, gardens, people and walkways contained within. Water splashed and played in the fountains on top of the four pillars in front of the PsiCorps headquarters building. The headquarters itself was a small collection of buildings connected to each other and arranged in a semicircle behind the pillars and the lone pylon-like building. On top of that building was a golden eagle with wings upswept behind it and claws grasping a large shield bearing the PsiCorps insignia. Similar smaller eagles sat perched on stone globes along the edges of the buildings behind the pylon. Officially, these represented PsiCorps' presence on the 24 worlds in the Earth Alliance's 14 star systems.

Alfred Bester, looking up, thought that if PsiCorps had to adhere to reality, it would have to remove several of the globes to show the loss and destruction of colonies. He looked behind himself to look at the people walking all over the square in front of the headquarters. Immediately in front of the headquarters on the steps leading to it was an abstract statue showing the shadows of two adults holding the hands of a child while reaching for the sky or, more accurately, toward the eagle and PsiCorps shield on top of PsiCorps Central. The message was clear to all who understood:

The Corps is Mother, the Corps is Father.

Another statue, this one of a man, rose on a pedestal in the center of the square itself. The man was in the middle of a sideways run, arms outstretched and an expression of noble determination on his face. William Karges the Grabber.

Bester smirked. William Karges' story was that he hid his identity as a telepath until he saved President Marion Robinson from an assassin's bullet. In gratitude, she created PsiCorps to protect Human telepaths.

Of course, that was a lie. No one knew this except the higher-ups and the more perceptive members of PsiCorps.

It was one of the many examples of the telepaths' superiority over the mundanes. One of Bester's favorite lessons, one given by his mentor, Dr. Sandoval Bey, was the classic 20th century Japanese film Rashomon. The film depicts the rape of a woman and the apparent murder of her samurai husband through the widely differing accounts of four witnesses, including the rapist and, through a medium, the dead man. The stories are mutually contradictory, leaving the viewer to determine which, if any, is the truth. Bester got the lesson that everyone is selfish and everyone looks out for themselves. He also learned that telepathy would immediately cut to the truth itself and that demonstrated telepaths' superiority over mundanes.

Bester smirked at the memory and went into the PsiCorps Center. Walking through the glass doors, he spotted Phyllis Kelsey in her all-black skirted uniform, gloves, turtleneck and knee-length polished black heeled boots, and the ever-present silver-bronze PsiCorps badge on her lapel below her left collarbone. With shoulder-length brown hair, blue eyes and startlingly red bee-stung lips, Kelsey could, and was, called beautiful, but that didn't matter to Bester. All that mattered was inside. She was an ice queen. But she was still his partner whenever he worked in Level-12 Investigations, and he appreciated her.

"Ah, Ms. Kelsey."

She arched an eyebrow in greeting. "Bester. Still alive, I see."

The PsiCop rolled his eyes. "If the mundanes had their ways, I would be crying, 'For the love of God, Montresor!'"

Ms. Kelsey gave a thin smile. Still the ice queen. Bester approved. "They still call us 'PsiCop'."

She nodded once, the slight downturn in the corners of her red lips showing her disapproval. The polite term for such people as her and Bester was Metasensory Police or MetaPol for short. If one wanted to be technical about what PsiCorps called them, it was actually internally called Level-12 Investigations. People wouldn't say 'cop' to a policeman's face. That only showed the mundanes' dislike of telepaths and their envy of their superiority.

He looked around at the lobby built of colored marble. It was mostly empty as usual. Few people except those of PsiCorps ever came in, which was just as well. "Things never change."

"The Boss wants to see you."

"Which one?" teased Bester as they walked deeper into the PsiCorps Center. "We have several bosses in varying degrees of importance. All this hierarchical organization is…" He smirked. "…so mundane."

Ms. Kelsey rolled her eyes. "The Director."

"Ah." Sometimes teasing an ice queen wasn't much fun, but if he managed to make Ms. Kelsey smile, he knew that he'd make any average person laugh out loud. So it was all worth it.

As they walked through all-white corridors, they passed large PsiCorps propaganda posters hung on the walls: "TRUST THE CORPS", "OBEY", "PROTECT THE FAMILY", "WE KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING." Bester ignored them all. He didn't need any convincing or reminding.

Finally, they reached a door. Standing by the door was an EarthForce-uniformed guard. Bester slightly twisted his lips in contempt. Lincoln Powell, the director of PsiCorps liked to test a telepath's ability by posting an obstinate mundane guard at the door to his office. The theory was that if a telepath could get past him, then he or she was worthy of seeing Director Powell. A telepath was a telepath if he or she could get past him.

But it would be too easy for a man of Bester's prowess. Before the guard could speak to stop the two PsiCops, Bester fugued him.

The test easily done, Bester opened the door and went through. The guard remained standing as if he was seeing nothing.

Fuguing was a PsiCorps practice of freezing a person by causing him or her to repeat his last thought over and over for a while. Technically, doing this without a warrant or official sanction was illegal. However, as Ms. Kelsey was fond of saying, there are rules and there are _rules_.

The office that Bester and Kelsey entered was small and spartan, understating the power of the PsiCorps director. There was only a desk, a plush high-backed chair, a small Japanese koi swimming in a large fish bowl on a pedestal and a computer screen set in the wall above the fishbowl. Bester cautiously mentally reached out toward Lincoln Powell's mind to figure out his mood. The director was known for lying to anybody for his own amusement while claiming it was to constantly test the telepaths' ability to find the truth. He once said that this test was also designed to show that the mundane way of communication was unreliable and that only the mind is truly dependable. Of course, behind Mr. Powell's back, people called him Dishonest Abe. Surely, he knew this and could see this in others' minds. So far, he had taken no action about that or just simply didn't care. Bester had heard that he believed himself to be the telepathic version of his ancestor named Colin, who lived at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries.

As far as Bester could tell, Mr. Powell was not in the mood to "test" the two metasensory police officers now standing before his desk. He was proven right in the next moment.

"You're back from New London, Bester," said Powell without preamble.

"Terrina," corrected Bester with wry disapproval at that colony's secession. "I have found some things that are..." He smirked. "...most enlightening. A telepathic race has been living right under our nose for a very long time, Mr. Powell."

The director arched an eyebrow. "The Terrians."

"Yes. But their telepathy works differently. It's instinctive and they communicate through..." A twist of the lips showed Bester's low opinion. "...dreams."

"Dreams?" Kelsey scoffed. "Not very useful."

"This may be how the Terrians subverted the New Londoners into turning against Earth," Bester pointed out. "And there is one more thing. The Vulcans. They're telepathic, all of them."

Now both Kelsey and Powell raised their eyebrows in surprise. "All of them?"

"All of them."

"An entire species of telepaths," breathed Powell. "And they can mind-cast with non-Vulcans?"

Bester understood why the director asked the question. There was one other alien species that was entirely telepathic, but they could mind-cast, telepathically communicate, only with each other: the Vree. He nodded.

"How can you be sure?"

In answer, Bester opened his memories of his encounters with Vulcans, especially of the one named Kov. Soon, both the director and the female psicop knew that all Vulcans were indeed telepaths, though touch-telepaths, and that they suppressed their emotions out of necessity. They felt the assault of roiling and primal emotions upon Bester's mind. It was not the same; it was only a shadow of the real encounter but they understood.

Powell sat back in his plush high-backed chair. "Well. That tracks with a report that EarthForce received from one of its pilots at the Vulcan homeworld. A...Jeffrey Sinclair. We must get a sample of intact Vulcan DNA."

Kelsey dipped her head in agreement while Bester grasped his permanently clenched and lame left hand. He knew that Powell would refer the sample to Department Sigma, a secret and often independent department within PsiCorps whose mission was to increase telepathic abilities. In the face of this war with the Minbari, and now the Romulans, Sigma was working with EarthForce New Technologies and the EarthForce Bio-Genetic Warfare Division, also known as the Bio-Weapons Division.

Kelsey wondered aloud, "Does Vulcan telepathy work through mitochondrial descent?"

Bester understood the reason behind her question. The marker for the telepath gene was encoded within a telepath's mitochondrial DNA which could only be traced through women, at least among Humans. Mitochondrial descent was the basis behind PsiCorps' custom of passing family names along the female line rather than male. Thus Phyllis Kelsey got her surname from her mother rather than her father, contrary to the custom among most mundanes. He shrugged. "All the Vulcans we've met so far are touch-telepaths. Who can say?"

Director Powell nodded and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk, and steepled his fingers. "I'm sure you know of the story of the meeting between PsiCorps' first director, Kevin Vacit, and the first Centauri ambassador to Earth, Andilo Vitari."

Indeed they did. Kevin Vacit had come to Ambassador Vitari to learn about the history of telepaths among the Centauri. The ambassador had told him that the Centauri did not always have telepaths and that they were not a product of evolution but an indicator of it because all the advanced races had them. Famously, the Narns did not have any telepaths for some reason, and the Centauri these days liked to say that this showed how primitive the Narns were and should be. The Centauri, as the Earthers shortly had, discovered a genetic marker in the DNA of the telepaths of all the races in range of their ships—the same marker, in fact, no matter how different the races were. Ambassador Vitari had no explanation for this nor was he interested in finding one.

Seeing that the two PsiCops understood what he meant, Powell said, "I want to know if this marker exists in the other universe. I've received reports of telepathy among an Andorian subspecies called the Aenar. Telepathy is apparently not universal over there like it is here, but our agents have heard rumors of a few other races that have telepaths, like...the Deltans, the Betazoids, the Kzinti, the Oran'taku. The Terran Starfleet has not explored very far so there may be many other races with telepaths."

Bester mentally yawned. Finding out about alien telepathy wasn't his job. He was a PsiCop and he dealt with alien telepaths only if they crossed his path, like those Vulcans at Terrina. But since the director was telling him and his partner about those alien races, it looked as if it'd be part of his job soon. If that was so, then so be it. He wouldn't be looking forward to the task because, as all Earth telepaths knew, looking into alien minds was not a pleasant experience. But if he could do deathbed scans, a very dangerous practice that most who had done it did only once, then he could scan aliens.

Kelsey was thinking along similar lines. "Director, if you want us to go through the Quantum Rift and get DNA samples for you, we will."

The director showed nothing of his thoughts on his face or in his mind. "That's not necessary quite yet. We need to do this quietly. As you know, the Terrans don't have telepaths or at least have not verified telepathy among themselves yet."

The fact that the Terrans didn't have verifiable telepaths while the Earthers had them was a mystery. PsiCorps intended to find out the reason behind such a major difference between the two Earths. If there were telepaths hiding among the Terrans, PsiCorps would find them and provide protection.

"So," continued the director, "go to Terra and its colonies. Find out if there's any telepaths among the Terrans. If they exist, the Terrans need to know. We will either help them set up their own PsiCorps or take them into our family. Of course, if any of them is one of our blips, take them in."

"Yes, Director," intoned both PsiCops.

=/\=

An atmospheric shuttle cruised through space. It was painted almost entirely black with a white Omega sign on top of it, behind the pilot's cockpit. Phyllis Kelsey gazed out one of the several passenger windows. Her hair tightly held in a bun, she floated in the zero-gravity environment and gently held onto a wall-mounted handhold beside the window to prevent the shuttle's momentum from pushing her to the back.

At the moment, the shuttle was making its way past the red planet Mars toward the Asteroid Belt. The usual civilian ship traffic was in orbit around Mars, watched over by several EarthForce warships. The only alien vessel in this area of space was a Vulcan ship, recognizable by its blood-russet color and its needle-shaped main hull spearing through the characteristic warp-ring. The Vulcan ship hung in its sedate orbit around Mars, almost blending in with the color of the red planet.

Behind her, the door slid open. Ah, Ms. Kelsey… came the familiar 'path-sending to her. "There you are."

She turned an arched eyebrow at the arrival. "I thought you were sleeping, Mr. Bester."

The other telepath pulled himself through the doorway and sailed over to beside Kelsey until an outreached hand on the wall halted his progress through the air. Bester was looking upbeat, but she knew that was a façade. "As long as we're not in Teeptown or in one of our motherships, I must remain vigilant. It would have been ideal if we used the _Isis_, surround ourselves with brother and sister telepaths, and threatened by no one."

Kelsey nodded in agreement as she returned to looking out the window. From what he could sense of her mind, Bester knew that she was looking at the Vulcan ship. He mused aloud, "Ah, the Vulcans. They and their Terran allies, humanity's last, best hope for victory…." The older officer's tone changed from companionable to steely and his gaze hardened. "While that may be so, we must be on our guard among them."

The female telepath gave no apparent indication whether she agreed or disagreed but her mind emanated complete harmony with Bester's opinion. After a moment, Kelsey wondered aloud, "Do the other races like the Vulcans have an organization like our PsiCorps and the Centauri Telepath Guild?" She sent a glyph into Bester's mind, allowing him to see a male Vulcan dressed in the standard black PsiCorps uniform, complete with gloves and Psi badge. The overall appearance seemed a little sinister, thanks to the Vulcan's physical appearance.

Bester shrugged. "Alien telepathic organizations do not matter to us, Ms. Kelsey. Human telepaths matter. Wherever they are, they are family. If we find any among the Terrans, we must protect them. The fact that we have not heard about them or heard from them shows that they are in hiding." His brow creased in a frown at the universal mundane fear of telepaths. "Naturally."

"Naturally," agreed Kelsey.

The shuttle had left Mars far behind and was now entering the Asteroid Belt. Hanging among the rocks was what connected the two universes and permitted travel between them.

"Looks like a lightning storm in space," commented Kelsey.

Bester watched impassively as their shuttle moved in closer to the Quantum Rift. Newly installed on the rocks surrounding the phenomenon were weapons installations and defense satellites also moved between the asteroids. As the shuttle poked into the Rift, everything dimmed. Bester blinked. It wasn't his eyes or the light. It was not the dimming of a sudden storm rushing in, but objects and the environment surrounding the telepaths were now peculiarly dim and the effect steadily worsened. It was as if Bester was closing his eyes to sneeze. No, it was as if everything around him were closing its eyes to sneeze. The universe was going dark and strange rather than his perception.

Through his telepathic senses, Kelsey felt as if she was attenuating, her mind growing dim. She was also squinting at everything around herself, sensing the same thing as he was. If hyperspace enhanced telepathic abilities, this phenomenon muffled them almost as if it was a natural sleeper drug.

Suddenly, everything cleared. All appeared normal again.

Bester and Kelsey blinked for a moment. He grimaced at the sensation, disliking it very much.

The PsiCorps shuttle continued its course, leaving the Quantum Rift far behind.

**Vulcan Research Ship _Seleya_**

**In orbit around EA Mars**

Natasha Alexander watched the main view-screen, which was showing a visual interpretation of the Vulcan ship's scans of Mars. At this moment, it was showing the Nodus Gordii Mountains. The P-5 female telepath knew that the name was Latin for the Gordian Knot.

Mars was a Gordian knot for those who wished to know its secrets.

Especially when she headed Department Sigma and no one outside it knew about it. She turned to the male Vulcan working at a console that controlled the scans. Jewel-like buttons glowed under his fingers. He was partnered with another Human woman, Dr. Mary Kirkish, who worked for Interplanetary Expeditions. If Natasha didn't know better, she would have thought that Sovak was suffering from a severe case of hepatitis due to his skin coloring. However, that was the result of the Vulcan green blood.

"Sovak, do you have children?"

Sovak looked up briefly before returning to his task. "No. I had a son who died in a skirmish with the Andorians."

That caused Mary to look at the Vulcan with sympathy in her blue eyes for a moment.

Natasha silently cursed herself. To a Human, her question might have been a faux pas, but Sovak was not Human and Vulcans did constantly claim to suppress all emotions. Natasha had been trying to get a sense of the Vulcan emotional state without intruding his mind. Not an easy task for a P-5, but possible. Mundanes often let their thoughts spill out of their mind, and certain phrases and questions would cause them to inadvertently advertise their memories or answers in response.

As far as she could tell, Vulcans were very well disciplined.

The view-screen now showed Olympus Mons. A volcano as large as North American state of Missouri, its summit fifteen miles high and it pierced atmospheric blanket of Mars. Even though it was a very familiar sight, the Solar System's highest mountain was breathtaking. Natasha briefly thought of her granddaughter, Lyta Alexander, who was working as a commercial telepath for XenoCorp at Beta Colony.

Mary Kirkish stole a glance at the old woman in Psi Corps black. Natasha was there only because the scans that the archaeologist requested from the Vulcans would pass through certain areas of Mars affiliated with PsiCorps. Otherwise, this mission wouldn't have been approved by EarthGov.

"Mr. Sovak," the blonde woman said, "what is the Terran Mars like?"

The Vulcan continued to work the console as he replied, "Terran Mars has been terraformed sufficiently to the point where Humans could breathe air unassisted in the lowlands. However, temperatures are still cold enough to require thermal wear."

"We still need breathers," Mary sighed. "The cities are still domed, though?"

"For the most part," Sovak confirmed.

Mary was impressed. The first colonists went to her Mars in 2155, though the first true permanent colony was founded by John Carter in 2169, seventy-eight years ago. Even with Centauri technology, the Earth Alliance still had a long way to go in the terraforming of Mars. As far as she knew, the first Terran colonists on Mars arrived in 2103, fifty-four years previously in the Terran point of view. The faster terraforming of Terran Mars had to be due to Vulcan technology, which was clearly more advanced than that of the Centauri.

"Terran Mars is independent, isn't it?"

Sovak took a moment before he could answer. He knew that this particular issue was sensitive in the Earth Alliance. "It is. The Confederated Martian Colonies, with its capital in Ares City, gained independence after a rebellion against an Earth corporation, the Consortium, within a decade after colonization. Among Terrans, the Fundamental Declarations of the Martian Colonies is recognized as a significant document regarding individual rights."

Natasha scoffed softly under her breath. Already, alien influences were corrupting her world, even if they came from another Human race. The main view-screen now showed the fog-filled Valles Marineris. The clouds raced along the length of the canyon that stretched more than three thousand miles so that one end knew day while the other endured night. The temperature differences caused shrieking winds that herded fog along a four miles deep canyon. The terraforming of Mars had made the winds scream much harder these days.

The PsiCorps woman looked over her shoulder at Mary and Sovak, a tendril of hair escaping her silver hair knotted in a bun. Her narrowed eyes caught Mary's look. The Human archaeologist got the hint to drop this line of questioning. Even though in her mostly fruitless field work across the face of Mars she had encountered PsiCorps personnel numerous times, the telepaths still made her nervous.

"Sovak, you're an archaeologist. What's your specialty?" asked Mary.

"Vulcans live for a long time so we have opportunities to specialize in several fields." The Vulcan man's fingers danced on the console's colored jewels. "For example, I was part of the science team that discovered and studied a group of ruined warships from the Promellian-Menthar War. I led several expeditions to the ancient ruins of Tagus III. Since then, I have specialized in the Iconian civilization."

Mary Kirkish waved a hand at the view of Mars in the view-screen. "And Mars?"

"There is a theory called the Hodgkin's Law of Parallel Planet Development. The Human bio-sociologist Dr. Attanasio Evan Hodgkin proposed that when planets are similar enough, they will develop in similar and parallel lines, even down to evolution and socio-cultural development." Sovak nodded at the view-screen. "This is an opportunity for me to see that theory in action."

"Are there artifacts on Terran Mars?"

That question came from Natasha Alexander instead of Mary. Sovak slightly arched an eyebrow. "There are reports of Martian artifacts, mostly ancient sculptures buried in caves and inscriptions laid down deep for preservation in the sandstone strata. However, considering the age and fragility of Mars' ancient ecosphere, we tend to support the theory that the civilization was not native to the planet. Nothing more. It will be most intriguing to find similar artifacts on this version of Mars." Sovak turned his eyes to Mary. "Dr. Kirkish, have your excavations and searches on your Mars yielded results?"

Mary had to think about that. The word from On High, meaning from the head office of IPX, made her sign non-disclosure agreements. But she had to say something to keep the Vulcans on her side. "We…have found remnants of an alien presence on Mars, fragments really. They were in a dozen places on the planet from the South Pole to Olympus Mons. They're not much more than shards and dust, but I…well, IPX, really, we're hoping to find something much more tangible."

Natasha said nothing nor did she make any indication of her opinion of Mary's answer.

"IPX," said Sovak. "Interplanetary Expeditions, is it not, Dr. Kirkish? It is…an interesting, though troubling, organization if what we have been informed about it is any indication."

"Exploring the past to create a better future," quoted Mary. "The ancient technologies we find are good for all us. For example, the interceptor grid that EarthForce is using and sharing with Starfleet came from a technology we found on an abandoned alien ship at the gas giant Orion 5. Those stories?" She laughed dismissively, tossing her blonde hair. "Most of the time, it's because of odd characters. Oh, the stories they tell in the IPX backrooms about the early days, Sovak. Especially about the early CEOs. The founder of IPX, Jasper Hartung, was a lunatic obsessed with Martian independence and scattered weapons dumps all over the planet in preparation for a revolution that never came. Yuri Fahrner was a bastard who'd sell his own mother's corpse to a pak'ma'ra. Henry Hartung had all sorts of daddy issues, and Claudia Hartung, well…" Mary chuckled. "…she got very friendly with several Centauri diplomats before she disappeared along with 307 archaeologists at a dig on Jericho II. They can do surprising things with those tentacles."

Natasha rolled her eyes while Sovak arched a slanting eyebrow.

The console chirped for attention. Sovak turned to study the sensor reading scrolling down a screen in another computer console. "It would appear that we have discovered something." He tapped at the jeweled buttons and the main view-screen shifted to a bird's eye view of a chain of three large dead volcanos. It magnified to focus on a relatively small volcano east of the northernmost volcano and a cross-hair blinked over the western face.

"Tharsis Tholus," recognized Dr. Kirkish.

Tharsis Tholus was one of many small volcanos in the Tharsis region surrounding the famous straight chain of three volcanos to the south-east of Olympus Mons. Often, those who did not know better called it Tharsis Mons.

The door to the control center slid open. A Vulcan woman walked briskly in, followed by a young Human man. The Human, on loan from EarthForce New Technologies, was quite handsome, but it was the pale beauty of the tall Vulcan woman that attracted attention. She was rather thin like a fashion super-model, causing her purple-red lips to appear puckered. Her large eyes were a startling and brilliant green, and the severity of her beauty was emphasized by her typically short Vulcan haircut.

"T'Uerell," said Sovak by way of greeting.

The female Vulcan scientist, also the _Seleya_'s commander, was almost instantly at his side, taking in the sensor readings. "There is a structure deep underground."

The Humans came for a closer look at the readings while keeping their respectful distance from the two Vulcans. The man commented, "That's deeper than most of our scanners could reach."

T'Uerell dipped her head in acceptance of that fact. "Indeed, Mr. Morden. The volcanic rock over the structure is of the same density as the surrounding area. Logic dictates that it was deliberately buried and hidden."

Natasha leaned forward, tense. "Do we know what it is?"

"The computer is working on creating a schematic image of the structure for us."

Morden's face shone with an excited smile. "Finally! After all these years of scrabbling in the sand, Mars is giving up some of its secrets! We've struck gold!"

Mary Kirkish chuckled softly. "That will give you something to brag about to your girlfriend."

The handsome man laughed.

Natasha Alexander surreptitiously gazed at both Morden and T'Uerell. Morden's mind seemed like any other regular mundane minds that Natasha had come across in her life in PsiCorps. T'Uerell, on the other hand, had a much more rigid and disciplined mind than Sovak, if that was possible. More than that, she could not tell.

Another chirp indicated the computer's readiness. T'Uerell tapped a command and everyone turned to look at the main view-screen. The image moved an imaginary camera to below the rocky and fractured base of Tharsis Tholus, making Mars appear completely empty beneath the surface. At some distance below the surface, there was the structure itself. It appeared to be a large base, each level smaller than the one above so that the base took the outline of an inverted cone. Slanting shafts connected the levels.

"It's a base," observed Natasha.

"Indeed, Ms. Alexander," confirmed T'Uerell. "There are indications of technology within the structure. Though it is completely powered down, there is a geothermal tap leading down deep beneath Tharsis Tholus. Considering the youth of the volcano and its potential for future activity, the tap could still be used."

Sovak brought up records on another console. "I am comparing the detected technology with the records provided by the Earth Alliance government and military." After a moment, he announced, "It is Vree."

The Humans were surprised. They had known that the Vree made visits to Earth in the 20th century. Oh, several Vree artifacts had been found elsewhere on Mars but they claimed that these came from the times they landed ships for maintenance, but there was absolutely no inkling of a Vree base.

Morden frowned at the image of the underground base. "That's a very large base for the Vree to have on Mars. It's almost big enough to be a colony."

T'Uerell said, "Judging by the Vree physiology, it is large enough to contain up to 1,000 Vree."

A new chirp rang. This time, it sounded different.

"The sensors are detecting another structure," announced Sovak.

Mary's eyebrows climbed very high on her forehead. Another base?

The main view-screen immediately shifted to a bird's eye view of Tharsis Tholus and travelled south-west over Noctis Labyrinthus, the mazelike western end of Valles Marineris. The cross-hairs blinked once more in the very center of Syria Planum. Mary and Morden nervously glanced at Natasha. They knew that there was a PsiCorps colony and base in the region.

"Curious," commented Sovak. "This particular structure is buried 300 feet below the surface. There appear to be little attempt at hiding it unlike the base at Tharsis Tholus. And the sensors are having difficulties in discerning the shape of the structure."

T'Uerell returned to her console and added her efforts to those of Sovak. After a while, she said, "It is indeed most curious. Something is blocking most of our sensor scans."

Mary and Morden exchanged a speculative look. The implication was that this something was advanced enough to block even the advanced Vulcan scans. That implication wasn't lost on Natasha, either, as the old female telepath stepped close to T'Uerell to try and figure out what she was seeing in the Vulcan computer.

"Most fascinating," commented T'Uerell as her fingers danced over the blinking and glowing colored jewels on the black console. "From what the sensors could identify, the structure appears to be made of a type of organic technology. The Vulcan Science Directorate has theories about that particular field of science but has dismissed it as beyond our capability to achieve."

Unnoticed by all, a gleam came into Natasha Alexander's eyes as she couldn't resist smiling.

They've struck gold!

High above Mars, the Suurok-class Vulcan research ship _Seleya_ continued in its orbit around the red planet. At this moment, it was directly above Galle Crater.

Also known as the "Happy Face Crater," it smiled at all those who looked at it.

**ch'Rihan**

**Romulan homeworld**

Flashes of light announced the arrival of three ships out of warp. The warbird and its escort of two T'Liss-class birds-of-prey quickly moved past the orbit of ch'Havran, also known as Remus. The birds-of-prey, of the same type as those sold to the Orion Syndicate as interceptors, swerved away from the warbird. They would continue their patrol around the Romulan System.

The warbird docked with the main battlestation in orbit around Romulus, called Kaur'el Tennahrex or the High Fortress in the Terran language of commerce. Also called Sunside Station, it was a massive space station that ruled the skies of Romulus, served as the planet's final line of orbital defense, controlled and coordinated the arrays of defense satellites scattered around the planet and throughout the system. It also served as the beating heart of the Romulan Imperial Fleet and orders were dispatched from the High Fortress.

Soon, the warbird separated from one of the station's docking ports and moved on away to Ur-Metheisn, a series of shipyards above Remus, serving a role similar to Earth's Utopia Planitia Fleet-Yards and Vulcan's T'Khut Shipyards. Meanwhile, a shuttle was launched from the High Fortress.

The shuttle rushed through the clouds of Romulus, quickly shedding the heat glow of its atmospheric reentry.

Inside, Admiral Valdore watched the rolling landscape of Romulus out one of the shuttle's windows. The Apnex Sea glittered with sunlight. A glance across the aisle from his seat confirmed that Admiral Lasus still sat, focusing on his own thoughts. Valdore watched as the capital city of Dartha passed beneath the shuttle. His lips twitched in a wry half-smile as he thought of those who still called the city by its old name, Ra'tleihfi, given by the Ruling Queen T'Rehu in ancient days. The Government Quarter, containing the Hall of State where the Senate met, sat between the mouth of the Tor'ren River and the ancient harbor shaped to echo the river flowing between the Senate platform and the old concentric city wall.

The capital city did not extend across the river at the shoreline. Instead, it was a national park with a few monuments and obelisks scattered throughout the land, with walkways for people to enjoy the parkland. The reason that this land was not settled was that if a heavy structure is built, it would then eventually sink into the marshy soil during the rainy seasons. Creeks, brooks and rivulets flowed through the land from the Tor'ren River, which made some people consider the land to be part of a river delta. The few tiny rocky outcroppings served as foundations for the monuments and obelisks in the park. In the middle of this parkland was the only solid ground and the Imperial Palace covered this ground. A sprawling complex of buildings, pavilions and spires, the Imperial Palace was at least four hundred years old at this time since it was first erected by Emperor Valkis.

Normally, a return to Romulus inspired Valdore but there was ash in his mouth. They were coming here to make an apology to the Empress for the defeat at Andoria. Normally, defeats wouldn't require an apology to the Empress but the Star Empire had great plans for Andoria. Even if the Romulans couldn't successfully invade and occupy Andoria, or at least treat it as an unoccupied penal colony, that planet would be so devastated that the Andorian Empire would be knocked out of the war, thus freeing up Imperial military assets to pursue the war against Earth and Tellar. In the event of a successful occupation, a Prince of the Blood would be appointed governor or viceroy of Andoria.

As it is, both Valdore and Lasus had to go and apologize for the losses suffered at Andoria.

The shuttle landed on the square in front of the Imperial Palace, settling with a soft thump. This shook Lasus out of his thoughts. He grimaced as he murmured, "Time to face the _Llei'hmne_."

Valdore understood his colleague's distaste. Time to face the Empress, indeed. Even a noble considered having to apologize to the Empress an ultimate humiliation, the more so if one is denied death afterwards and had to continue to live with the public embarrassment.

If that was the fate Valdore and Lasus would suffer, then so be it. _Mnhei'sahe._

"_Daise'Khre'Enriov_, are you certain that we should not put any stock to those stories about the _Llei'hmne_ having a god for a consort?"

Valdore grunted in exasperation as he stood up from his seat and pulled down the front of his checkered Imperial Fleet uniform to make himself more presentable. "It is insanity to repeat such things here, Lasus. The closest to divinity that she has been to is her lineage from the Ruling Queen."

Lasus tried not to smile. "That is also not to be repeated, _Daise'Khre'Enriov_," he chided. "Everyone knows that T'Rehu didn't have any children. Except for a bastard daughter and most of us knows her from the song, 'The High Queen's Bastard Daughter' which is hardly to be sung anywhere in the Imperial Palace."

The grand admiral half-smiled to show his appreciation of Lasus' attempt at humor, but he didn't feel any mirth. Too many people have repeated the rumor of the Empress having a divine consort. That made him uneasy. Deities did not exist except in stories and mythologies, and if they actually did, most Romulans knew that they never answer prayers. Only the Elements that made up the universe deserved reverence.

As they stepped out of the shuttle, Valdore could see the palace's architecture up close. It was built in the Ehsadai style, a classical and elegant construction dating from the time when early Romulans were still taming the Two Worlds. A person from Earth may recognize a similarity to a mix of Art Deco and Doric order.

Right in front of the two men, a monumental stone arch acted as the gateway into the Imperial Palace behind its high walls. A statue of an oversized le-matya supported each end of the arch. Four guards flanked the gateway, two on each side. Two of the guards were members of the Praetorian Guard, recognizable by their crested helmets and black anodized battle armor, though these held halberds at rest. The Praetorians answered to the Praetor but orders could be countermanded by ranking members of the Imperial Household. The other two guards came from the Hearth Guard, wearing heavy gold-plated and amber jewel-encrusted armor and gold helmets, like ancient Vulcan ceremonial guards. In areas unprotected by the armor and amber unfaceted jewels, dark green and black cloth was visible. For weapons, each held a lirpa modified to have a larger sideway half-moon blade. The Hearth Guard answered to the Archpriest of the Imperial Cult.

The guards, alternating between the Praetorians and Hearth, were completely expressionless as Valdore and Lasus stepped into the arched gateway. They saw that the le-matyas, a large predatory feline animal native to Vulcan, had the wings of the Romulan neiirh which hid its poisonous spurs within its brilliant plumage. The wings, carved into the inner walls of the archway above the le-matyas' bodies, guided Valdore and Lasus into the palace complex.

A small square stretched between the gate and the portico of the palace itself. The portico had eight tall fluted columns whose bases were curling leaves and capitals were the Romulan birds of prey symbolic of the Star Empire, stretching their wings to support the roof and clutching the columns with their claws. The whole façade had the feel of a great temple, which was perhaps the intended purpose on a world whose people tended not to build temples, venerating the Elements that made up the universe as they did. Sure, Romulans built shrines but rarely, if ever, a temple due to the fact that they believed that the deities, if any existed, would not answer prayers.

More Praetorian and Hearth guards stood vigilant between the columns. On the steps leading up to the portico, a completely bald and pudgy man in flowing robes bowed with his hands hidden in his voluminous sleeves. "_Aefvadh!_ I am the Royal Civil Attaché."

Valdore noted that the bow was not low, indicating a veiled slight to his station as the Grand Admiral of the Imperial Fleet, and that the man, who had to be one of the palace Sentinels, the personal protectors and assistants of the Imperial Sovereign, extended a formal welcome instead of the more informal jolan'tru. Likely, it was another indication of his fall from the favor of the Imperial Court and the Senate. But then again, he had heard that the Imperial Court tended to be much more formal than the Senate. For now, he had to endure this royal civil attaché, who served as a liaison to the Imperial Court.

The bald Sentinel bowed once more as the two soldiers climbed the first step. "Please, follow me."

Lasus frowned slightly and threw a questioning look at Valdore. The bigger admiral grimaced. Both had noticed that the robed courtier spoke with a child's voice. He took a closer look at what he had already pegged as a simpering sycophant. He had no Adam's apple and no sign that he could shave his face.

"You're not a man," Valdore accused as they climbed the steps into the portico. In front of them, tall double doors the size of which could admit a giant, slowly swung open. Each black silver door panel had the stylized bird-of-prey of the Star Empire highlighted in gold, clutching the circles representing the Two Worlds.

The courtier chuckled gently. He paused as he looked over his shoulder and chided, "Except for a very important attribute, I am a man. I have royal blood. Without the attribute that I lack, I could serve the Empress without being a threat." The robed Sentinel, hands still folded inside the hanging sleeves, glided into the hall beyond the doors.

The feeling of entering a great temple increased as Valdore and Lasus entered the palace's hypostyle hall. Huge columns of polished red marble stood beneath a ceiling about fifty paces above Valdore's head. The columns were simpler than the portico's columns, but no less grand for that. He and another man as big could not have encircled one of those columns with their arms. The floor seemed to be one slab of black polished stone with streaks of gold shot through it. The forest of columns held up a ceiling inlaid with various types of wood in geometric patterns in the Ehsadai style, sometimes with thin borders of silver and gold interwoven in the design. On the floor and the walls, slabs of marble were carefully cut so that veins flowed uninterrupted into each other. Where the crown molding of the ceiling and the capitals of the columns would be, there were sliced slabs of alabaster allowing artificial light to shine through. The color palette of wood tones and the shades of red, combined with the winged le-matyas at the gate, gave the atmosphere of Vulcan, which may be the intent—to remind Romulans of their ancestral ties to Vulcan and their destiny to reunite the sundered peoples.

The admiral heard Lasus take a soft gasp at the sight.

The courtier and the two admirals marched down the wide walkway cutting through the forest of columns, barely noticing the alternating Praetorian and Hearth guards along the way. At the end of the short hypostyle hall, thirteen steps led down to the lower level of the Great Hall which contained the Imperial Court itself beneath a dome supported by taller versions of the hypostyle hall's columns arranged in a square around the Great Hall, leaving a gap for a huge rose window at the back.

That window dominated the overall view. Stained glass arranged in geometric patterns yet suggesting a sunburst permitted sunlight into the Great Hall. In the center of that circular window's sunburst, a stylized firebird called the Alth'indor in Romulan mythology, seemed to take flight. The Alth'indor was said to die in fire and be reborn from its ashes in a cycle of glory and rebirth.

Courtiers gathered in the lower level of the Great Hall. Valdore could see that most, if not all, were popinjays. They were dressed in every type of costume imaginable in every color and style available in the Star Empire, though most tended to be variations of the formal robe. To the admiral, they looked as ridiculous as a disorganized garden of flowers. They even wore creative hats as if to differentiate themselves from the senators who were also gathered around the stepped dais containing the throne beneath the massive rose window. The senators were of course dressed in their dark blue robes with patterns of tiny white squares that were supposed to represent the stars and constellations that were every Romulan's destiny. Tight silk purple peeked out of the senators' robes and sleeves. Valdore and Lasus could see the Praetor himself in the gaggle of senators, holding the trident-like staff of the Debrune teral'n.

The admiral privately fumed and showed none of it on his face. Apologizing to the Empress was an ultimate humiliation and the Senate was here to witness it. Why? Valdore gave himself a mental sigh. _Mnhei'sahe._

The fan-backed throne itself, set on a dais of seven steps, was carved from a single block of blue-green quartz shot through with yellow fire. The flat fan back-rest was a large circle carved to look like a sunburst and this part of the throne was dominated by the streaks of yellow fire. The solid circle in the center of the backrest created the effect of a halo around the head of whoever sat in the throne. Backlit by the round window, the effect was stunning.

But even all that paled beside the woman who sat in the throne. Just before Valdore had to avert his gaze from her face, as demanded by tradition, he could see that the Empress was a beautiful and voluptuous woman. Her voluminous gown was gold Tholian silk with actual gold dust scattered upon it, as if the Empress was clothed with the sun. Tholian silk, Valdore knew, was extremely rare and exceedingly expensive. The Empress' gown was enough to buy a small moon, and as rumors told, she had wardrobes full of Tholian silk clothes.

The Empress wore a crown of Rigelian fire diamonds arranged to appear as if stars shone in her hair. Her feet, hidden under the gown, rested on a crescent moon of creamy-white mother-of-pearl. Polished jewels in the ancient Vulcan style were set in a broad gold collar. A ruby the size and shape of the Romulan heart sat in the Empress' lap. Supposedly, it was a replica of the lost Bloodstone, known to the Vulcans as the Ko N'ya or the Devil's Heart. In her right hand, she held a beautifully wrought and gleaming sword.

As Valdore solemnly walked down the steps to the lower level, his eyes widened in shock but he quickly covered it up. He recognized the sword that the Empress was holding. It was the Sword of S'task, last of the five legendary blades made by the famous sword-smith S'Harien on Vulcan 5,000 years ago. It was one of the three given by Surak to S'Task, leader of the Exile, to save them from destruction, and until now, it was kept lain in the Empty Chair in the Senate chamber, a seat kept empty in memory of S'task.

It was scandalous for the Empress to hold that sword here. Not even the Ruling Queen T'Rehu dared to take it from the Empty Chair! As scholars told it, she did almost sweep it from the Empty Chair, though.

Clearly, much had changed while Valdore was away from home.

Still, there was no woman like the Empress since T'Rehu. She was one of those people with that inexplicable quality, an abnormal charisma that Romulans referred to as _nuhirrien_—literally "to look toward." People tended to listen to her and gladly gave her items that they could hardly spare and even forgave her for terrible deeds. Indeed, T'Lel was the first monarch to truly rule the Star Empire since the overthrow of Emperor Valkis by Praetor Pontilus.

As the two admirals reached the last step, a woman dressed in the dark green robes, a cream-colored over-tunic and a coronet containing two upright crystals—a green one for Romulus, a blue one for Remus—stepped forward beside the throne on a lower step. She was the Archpriest of the Imperial Cult.

She raised a staff with a crystalline trident top and banged it on the polished stone floor once. She announced in a voice that carried throughout the Great Hall: "Mistress of the Elements, the Empire Made Flesh, Empress of the Declared People, Vriha T'Lel i-Charvon t'Thea, First of That Name!"

Except for the guards, everyone in the Great Hall, including Valdore and Lasus, went to their knees and bowed, touching forehead to the floor. This action forced some courtiers to take off their ridiculous hats. Only the senators and those with royal blood merely bowed from their waist. As soon as the Archpriest stood up straight from her bow and stepped back, the people stood from their positions of adulation.

The bald courtier that escorted the two admirals into the palace hastened to stand on one of the throne dais' steps beside and below the Empress, bowed to her once more and stood ready, watching her. Another man, wearing the badge of Imperial Legate, stepped forward from the crowd of courtiers to take his place on the other side of the throne from the attaché. As the Empress' chief aide, he was second in rank between her and the Praetor, though he had no real power except as a secretary. Indeed, he had a computer tablet ready in his hand.

The Empress made signals with her fingers and hands. The bald courtier, who was apparently the Voice of the Throne in addition to his duties as the Royal Civil Attaché, carefully watched the Imperial signs. When speaking to those far beneath herself, T'Lel would first pass the words to the attaché, who would then give voice to them. He said, "The conquered colony that the _Andorsu_ called Pvarto is now properly named Threllvia IV. Let it be published among the people."

The statement was expected. The Imperial Legate recorded it in his tablet.

T'Lel's fingers gestured and the attaché Voiced, "_Daise'Khre'Enriov_ Valdore and _Khre'riov_ Lasus are required to come forward."

It was time. Both named admirals stepped forward until they reached the supplication space before the throne, marked by a red circle inlaid into the polished patterned stone floor. They went down to their knees, then bowed low, foreheads touching the floor. They were the perfect image of loyal subjects.

T'Lel gestured to the bald attaché.

"You are bidden to rise," he said.

The men rose, though they kept their eyes lowered.

The bald court eunuch watched T'Lel's fingers and said, "The _Llei'hmne_ wishes to know the reason for the Imperial Fleet's failure at the Andorsu homeworld. She finds it distressing that the Star Empire is not able to remove the Andorsu from the path to Vulcan."

Lasus glanced to Valdore, wordlessly ceding the floor to his superior.

"_Vriha_, we did not have sufficient intelligence on a _Hevam_ faction calling itself the Earth Alliance. They employed a manner of interstellar travel unknown to our science. Furthermore, they employed warships that are heavily armored and sported heavy cannons of great caliber against our fleets." In his mind, Valdore could clearly see those brick-shaped vessels delivering those terrible broadsides of laser and plasma fire, ripping into his warbirds."

The attaché Voiced, "Yet, that was not the first time the Imperial Fleet encountered _raalar_ vessels of that type, was it not?"

_Raalar._ So the Empress had adopted the Imperial Court's derogatory name for the Humans. It was a name given to a loud ape that dwelled in the swamps of Romulus. Another derogatory name that Valdore had heard, this time given to the Klingons, was _wuspsak_—worm-eaters. Valdore would not dignify such derogatory names, even though Her Highest used them.

"No, it was not, _Vriha_. We encountered lesser variants at the Hevamsu colony of Qualor." Valdore added, "The Imperial Fleet is formulating strategies and tactics to counter the Hevam faction."

Imperial fingers flew and the attaché said, "The _Llei'hmne_ is aware that those you call a faction is actually not a faction, but a whole nation of _raalar_. What do you say to that?"

Valdore hesitated. He had not received confirmed intelligence that this 'Earth Alliance' was another interstellar Human empire. If intelligence had reached the Imperial Court before he could get it from the Tal Shiar or from his own agents, he'd need to re-examine his grasp of espionage. He'd need to make his apologies now and thus lose honor before the powers of the Star Empire.

"The failure to learn of that fact is mine, _Vriha_. I have sent someone to find out the truth behind these new Hevamsu and I have only recently returned from battle—"

"You need not deliver excuses nor apologize, _Daise'Khre'Enriov_," T'Lel said directly to the admiral, causing gasps of surprise from the assembled courtiers and senators. By speaking directly to Valdore, she was granting great honor. Her voice was soft yet it carried throughout the Great Hall. Either she was a very well trained orator or the Great Hall was designed to be acoustically excellent. Her beautiful face remained serene and expressionless. Very much like a Vulcan, Valdore thought. She added, "I know of things pertinent to the war that you have not learned yet. I am not content to stare at the stars while my empire fights to build the Road to the Stars and pave the path to reunification with our sundered cousins, the Thaessu."

Valdore bowed. "I…am thankful, _Vriha_."

The Empress spoke more loudly, intending for everyone to hear her more clearly. "Let us realize the dream that L'Deus wrote in the D'Vatta, the Great Paper, which united the old city-states into the Rihan Confederation before we became the Star Empire. '_We must join together or fail. We cannot reach our home, our destiny, by fighting among ourselves. We are one. We must be one. Let us act as one. To act any other way is to deny our children their right to the stars that are theirs.'_"

Speaking directly to Valdore, she said, "You sent _Arrain_ Telvor to investigate the reports of this new _raalar_ nation. He has returned to us. He has since been rewarded with a promotion to the rank of _erei'riov_."

Valdore was relieved. So the mission was a success and Telvor was now a sub-commander instead of centurion.

"Both he and you, _Daise'Khre'Enriov_ Valdore, will be awarded the _D'takaram_."

A murmur rose in the Great Hall as the courtiers and senators reacted to this announcement. Valdore was similarly surprised. The Great Comet was a military award given to those who have secured new resources for the Star Empire.

"While investigating that other _raalar_ nation, _Erei'riov_ Telvor captured an advanced alien vessel and brought it to ch'Havran for study. Even now, Technologist Nijil is harvesting the technologies available in that ship, including but not least an artificial quantum singularity."

The Empress smiled as yet another murmur rose in the Court. Romulan ships used fusion reactors to power their warp drives. Since everything else in the ships also depended on these reactors, there was little extra power left over. That was why the larger warbirds could not use their main plasma cannon, capable of spearing enemy vessels handily, except as a last resort.

Her fingers gestured and the bald courtier Voiced to a Sentinel, "You are required to bring her in."

The Sentinel bowed and left, disappearing into the crowd of courtiers which parted before him and closed behind him.

In the ensuing silence, Lasus stepped forward. "If it pleases the _Vriha Llei'hmne_, I—"

Imperial fingers moved and the attaché interrupted the admiral. "I would hold my tongue if I were you. You stand on sand as it is."

Lasus hesitated. Valdore could see the question in his eyes. Wasn't he going to apologize to the Empress? Did she intend to have him executed? Lasus kept silent. A wise choice.

Startled gasps rose from among the nobles. The crowd gave way hurriedly, more than eagerly, those in front ruthlessly forcing those behind farther back, opening a wide passage to the space before the throne dais. The Sentinel had returned with a Praetorian guardsman escorting a prisoner in a grey gown. The Praetorian clutched a stolen Vulcan universal translator in his free hand.

The prisoner was an alien that none in the Great Hall had ever seen before. Valdore could see that the alien was female. She was humanoid except for the pale skin, the smaller ears set low on the head and the sides and back of her head was covered by what seemed to be a bone crest arranged in an intricate design. She did not appear harmed but she looked exhausted, swaying on her feet slightly. The vacant look in her eyes and the slack way she had of holding her face told Valdore that she had been thoroughly interrogated, likely even put through a mind-sifter.

He shivered slightly. He didn't like the idea of mind-sifters but he had to admit that it was much more productive than any enhanced interrogation method available. It was a delicate technology, though. If one was not careful, the mind-sifter could rip a mind apart or take so many memories that the subject is left effectively lobotomized or even a mental vegetable.

He hoped that this alien wasn't put through the wringer that far.

Upon reaching the supplication space, the guards, holding the alien's arms, forced her to her knees. Her head hung.

The Empress' fingers gestured as she waved a hand toward the prisoner. The attaché Voiced, "Alien, identify yourself."

There was silence. The Empress frowned, causing the Sentinel guard to shake the alien's arm.

The alien raised her head, eyes completely exhausted and empty. She spoke and the universal translator brought by the Praetorian came to life: "I am Lenell of the Third Fane of Chudomo. I was born in the F'tach Islands on Minbar. I am a Ranger. I commanded the Ranger ship, _Liandra_. The Rangers are a military group dedicated to preserving the future and all life, to watching the frontiers for the return of the Great Enemy." Lenell took a trembling breath and continued, "We walk in the dark places no others will enter. We stand on the bridge, and no one may pass. We live for the One, we die for the One."

Her eyes drooped as she dropped her head.

There was the faintest hint of a smile on the Empress' face. She waved a hand at the guards who immediately took the prisoner away. She signed: "This alien's people, the Minbari, are the enemy of the other _raalar_ nation. They are destroying the defenses and colonies of that nation. They are an advanced race and the ship that _Erei'riov_ Telvor captured will provide us with much of their technology." T'Lel then spoke directly to Valdore. "You will be briefed on that, _Daise'Khre'Enriov_ Valdore."

Valdore bowed his head in acceptance. Then he said, "If it pleases the _Vriha Llei'hmne_…."

"You are allowed to speak."

"If these…Minbari are fighting the other Hevam nation and the Hevamsu are having difficulties in repelling them, could not the Star Empire make common cause with them?"

There was the slightest upraising of the Empress' slanted eyebrows. Valdore was being bold to make suggestions, though indirect, to the Empress.

"I have conferred with _Daise'Fvillha_ Lai on this matter. Upon learning of the origins of these Minbari, he and the _Deihuit_ agree that attempting to ally ourselves with them is not necessary."

Valdore glanced at Praetor Lai and the Senate standing attentively. He was once one of the senators until he challenged the Imperial policy of unlimited expansion, so he understood the power plays that existed among the senators as well as the short-sightedness of such politicians. It was often said that the Praetor was third in rank but first in power. However, in light of T'Lel's power, that statement may no longer hold true. The Empress was still speaking.

"You will understand the reason behind our decision when we reveal that the Minbari and the other _raalar_ nation exist in a parallel universe."

A murmur sharply rose as the nobles began to argue about the implausibility of it. The senators remained silent as they exchanged meaningful glances. Valdore and Lasus were as surprised as the nobles but remained silent. Only the guards sprinkled around the room remained absolutely still.

The bald attaché Voiced, "You will silence yourselves."

The Great Hall fell still, though the courtiers still looked disturbed.

T'Lel said, "The items of technology harvested from the captured Minbari ship are in the process of being reverse-engineered. The Imperial Fleet shall rotate ships between the front and the yards at ch'Havran for upgrading with some of the harvested technology. Plans for the warships currently under construction and for future warships have been accordingly updated. The Imperial Fleet shall be on the defensive while this is being implemented. The Military Tribunes are in accordance with this. Let this be published among the people."

Valdore and Lasus bowed their heads, accepting the Empress' will. Normally, she would not make military decisions, leaving such things to the Senate and the Romulan Guard, of which the Imperial Fleet was a branch. However, she had the right to make such commands and it was clear that the Senate supported her. As the Empress said, the Military Tribunes, the Romulan version of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, agreed with the command as well. Valdore remembered one of Amarcan's axioms: 'He who rules the military rules the Empire.'

"Let it also be published that raids against the enemy shall continue to keep them from going on the offensive against us." T'Lel stopped speaking and her fingers flew, causing the attaché to Voice, "_Khre'riov_ Lasus, step forward."

Lasus obeyed but remained in the marked supplication space.

The attaché Voiced, "In order to keep the enemy alliance off guard, you will be tasked to lead an armada to strike at the heart of the enemy alliance. Your flagship, _Rea's Helm_, has already been taken to ch'Havran for repairs and upgrading of technology. It is given priority for your task. As soon as this is complete, you will depart with the armada. _Rea's Helm_ will be the only warbird so upgraded in that fleet."

Lasus bowed his thanks from the waist. But there was more to come.

"_Deihu_ Mezen, come forward."

Lasus was surprised at that. The named senator strode over to the supplication space. He was an Imperial Hero from the campaigns against Reman rebels, against the colonies that refused to accept imperialization in 2144 and the campaign of conquest against the Reticulans in 2146. He was also a hero of the Battle of Romii, a white dwarf star system that distantly orbited the Romulan System, and was the key figure in making Romii a major base of the Star Empire.

Mezen was also Lasus' father.

The attaché Voiced, "_Deihu_ Mezen, you will accompany _Khre'riov_ Lasus in another upgraded warbird. The priority of this strike against the enemy alliance shall be the _raalar_ and the honor lost at the Andorsu homeworld will be redeemed. Child of Mezen, you will remember the proverb: 'A coward's mother does not weep.' Let this be published among the people."

Lasus realized that his father would monitor his actions in this strike into Human territory as well as see how the upgraded warbirds would fare against the enemy, and that the Empress was giving him a chance to redeem himself without having to apologize for the defeat at Andoria. He also realized that if he failed in this particular task, he would not return to Romulus alive. He swallowed as he and Senator Mezen bowed. _Mnhei'sahe._

T'Lel lazily raised her left hand and let it slowly drop to the arm of her throne. The female Archpriest immediately stepped forward and tapped her staff on the floor loudly once. She announced, "It is the published will of the throne that the _Llei'hmne_ shall be the first Rihanha to set foot on Vulcan once it has been reunited with our people. This is part of the Road to the Stars and it is in the Way of D'Era."

At this signal, everyone went to their knees and touched forehead to the floor while the senators and those with royal blood bowed from their waist. Several Praetorian and Hearth guards quietly surrounded the throne as the Empress stood up from the fan back throne, gripping the Sword of S'task in her right hand and holding the ruby replica of the Bloodstone in her left hand.

T'Lel stepped down from the crescent-moon footrest and gingerly went down the seven steps of the throne dais. Accompanied by the guards, the bald attaché, the Imperial Legate and the Archpriest, the Empress turned to the right and marched with her head held high, the fire diamonds in her crown glittering brilliantly and the light playing on the gold dust and fabric of the Tholian silk gown. As soon as she disappeared into a side doorway hidden by one of the massive polished red marble columns, the court congregation rose from their positions of adulation.

Almost immediately, the courtiers and senators mingled to discuss this latest audience. Valdore kept himself aloof from the Imperial Court's popinjays as he observed. He wondered who started the rumors about the Empress thinking that she's the consort of a god. She did not seem insane at all at Court.

=/\=

In one of the towers of the Imperial Palace, Empress T'Lel, First of That Name, had changed into a simple cream white silk gown. As she stood beside the emperor-sized canopied bed, she looked around at the sumptuously appointed bedchamber. Polished stone pillars with sunken alabaster-covered lights had capitals of blocks of increasing sizes that held up the ceiling. Filmy white curtains suffused the sunlight streaming through the windows. Similar curtains were tied back to the pillars of the bed's canopy. The fluffy blanket on the bed sported T'Liss, the mythical name for the ra'tar predator bird that was the symbol of the Star Empire, clutching green Romulus and blue Remus in its claws. The stone and wood-inlaid walls were dressed with two sets colorful tapestries that were gifts. One set was collectively called 'The Lady and the Unicorn' and the other set was 'The Hunt of the Unicorn.' In one corner of the bedchamber, there was a piano taken from a Human colony and gifted to her by the Romulan Guard. A traditional lyre stood in its stand on top of the piano.

T'Lel moved to sit on the bench before the piano's ivory keys. Tenderly, she pressed one of the keys, causing a note to sound. A light flashed behind her. She turned around to find that she wasn't alone in the bedchamber anymore. A man with dark curly hair was standing behind her, wearing the uniform of an Imperial Grand Admiral.

He had a mischievous half-grin on his face.

T'Lel stood up from the bench, an expression of delight on her face. "Kiu!"

"Wasn't the lyre T'Rehu's favorite?" he idly asked.

T'Lel rolled her eyes. "I am my own person, Kiu." She cocked her head. "Your name…it's based on one of our words, isn't it?"

She was referring to the word qiuu, which was Rihan for 'everything' or 'all.' The man laughed as he understood what she meant. "You did call me a god, didn't you?"

The Romulan Empress fell laughing into his arms and kissed her god passionately.


End file.
